Kurdish fighters release 300 Islamic State-linked Syrians
- 5 years ago
Kurdish fighters in Syria have set free 300 Syrians suspected of belonging to the Islamic State group.
The Kurds announced they had "no blood on their hands" suggesting they did not take part in any fighting.
A statement issued by Kurdish authorities stated the prisoners were freed as a gesture of "cooperation, fraternity and clemency."
Tribal chiefs and other local officials had lobbied for their release.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said it was not the first Kurdish authorities released IS-linked prisoners, but the number was particularly large this time.
U.S.-backed forces in Syria are holding hundreds of alleged foreign militants and their families, with their home countries reluctant to take them back.
The Kurds announced they had "no blood on their hands" suggesting they did not take part in any fighting.
A statement issued by Kurdish authorities stated the prisoners were freed as a gesture of "cooperation, fraternity and clemency."
Tribal chiefs and other local officials had lobbied for their release.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said it was not the first Kurdish authorities released IS-linked prisoners, but the number was particularly large this time.
U.S.-backed forces in Syria are holding hundreds of alleged foreign militants and their families, with their home countries reluctant to take them back.