A majority of the 220 Assyrian hostages held by the Islamic State in Syria still remain in the militants' custody.
It was reported earlier by Rome-based Asia News that the Islamic State had released 52 more Assyrian hostages on Thursday and Friday. According to the Apostolic Nuncio to Syria Monsignor Mario Zenari, the hostages were released without any ransom paid.
However, the World Watch Monitor (WWM) revealed that an update from Mgr. Zenari hours after the initial Asia News dispatch indicated that the release was not fully facilitated because the Islamic State militants were attacked as they were preparing to let go of the Assyrian Christians.
"A few dozen families had already boarded the bus and left the area where they had been kept captive," Zenari had said.
However, there were no news to confirm Mgr. Zenari's claim. A local Assyrian church leader told WWM Friday that the reportedly released hostages had not been heard from and had not arrived in Syria's Hassaka city.
Rev. Emanuel Youkhana of the Christian Aid Program in Northern Iraq (CAPNI) told WWM that this keeps the "windows of hope open."
"So far, no good news about the around 250 captives, and no sad news," Youkhana said. "This keeps the window of hope open. We pray and hope for their safe release and return."
CAPNI had recently sent a truckload of medical supplies and basic necessities donated by Iraqi Christians to Assyrian Christians currently residing in Hassaka City in Syria.
The Assyrian Christian hostages were abducted from more than 10 towns in Syria's Hassaka province by the Islamic State during a string of attacks at the end of February. The Islamic State subsequently released 23 hostages at the start of March.
One of the released hostages told the Assyrian International News Agency that they were freed because it was proven that they had not fought against the militants. However, ISIS warned them against returning to their village and threatened them with death if they were captured again.
