Islamic State releases 93 Syrian Kurds

Beirut: The militant Islamic State group has released 93 Syrian Kurds it captured in February as they made their way from northern Syria to neighbouring Iraq, a group monitoring the conflict said on Tuesday.

Islamic State seized around 100 people, accusing them of being members of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) which has opposed the militants, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. It was not immediately clear why they were released.

Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot which is the target of US-led air strikes in Syria and Iraq, released all but six of the Kurds in Syria on Monday, the Observatory said.