Islamic state frees 270 of 400 people it kidnapped from Syria's Deir al-Zor

BEIRUT: Islamic state group released from its prisons 270 of 400 civilians, most of them women and children, it kidnapped when its fighters attacked government-held areas in Syria's eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Saturday, a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the ultra-hardline group has rounded up 50 more people on Tuesday during raids on houses in areas it seized in the city during four days of fighting.