IS releases 6 hostages in Syria's Sweida

DAMASCUS -- The Islamic State (IS) released six hostages taken in the southern province of Sweida, state news agency SANA reported Saturday.

The released hostages include two women and four children who had been captured by the IS militants during an offensive at dawn of July 25.

Altogether 30 people were taken hostages at the time, three of whom had died while in captivity.

Citing the governor of Sweida, Amer al-Ashi, SANA said the release of the first batch of hostages came as a result of the tight siege imposed by the Syrian Army on IS militants in the Tulol al-Safa hills in the eastern countryside of Sweida.

He noted that the rest will be set free soon.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the release comes due to a deal reached recently with the backing of Russia.

The Britain-based watchdog group said the Syrian Army has brought in reinforcements to the surroundings of the Tulol al-Safa as a pressure on IS to start implementing the deal.

The observatory said that 60 women from government jails are to be released in exchange for the Sweida hostages, as these women appear to be relatives of IS fighters.

The IS also demanded the release of their relatives from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria.

Calm prevails Tulol al-Safa, where IS militants are besieged, said the observatory. It added that if IS fails to release the rest of the hostages, the army will continue the assault on Tulol al-Safa.