Christmas Freedom for Assyrian Christians

12-25-2015

ISIS has just released another 25 Christians from captivity in Syria.

According to the Lebanon Daily Star, the Assyrians, including 16 children and their mothers, arrived back in the city of Tal Tamar today. They had been part of a group of 230 Assyrian Christians kidnapped by ISIS last February from villages on the southern bank of the Khabur River in northeastern Syria.

Despite their release, at least 182 Assyrian Christians are still being held by the Islamic State. It was the second release of Christians this month, and the second group that included children. The first two children released were part of a group of two dozen freed in early December.

This was no kind, humanitarian Christmas gesture from ISIS. Abductions and the paying of ransoms is just one method used by ISIS to fund their caliphate. I met with some Assyrian Christians in Lebanon last month who told me the Islamic State has demanded the payment of at least $50,000 for each kidnapped Christian.

Ongoing Russian air strikes against Islamic State oil supplies heading to Turkey have likely left the caliphate a bit cash strapped.

Unfortunately, we may see more Christian kidnappings in the future as ISIS has learned Syrian and Iraqi Christians are valuable commodities worth much more alive than dead.

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