Syria Kurds release Takfiri leader in prisoner swap: UK-based group
Iran Press TV
Tue Jul 23, 2013 3:59PM
An al-Qaeda-linked militant group in Syria has released hundreds of Kurdish prisoners in return for the release of their local leader, a UK-based monitoring group says.
The so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Monday released 300 kidnapped Kurdish residents in exchange for Abu Musaab, their commander in the northern Syrian town of Tell Abyad, Ar-Raqqah Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday.
The London-based group said the prisoner swap was mediated by the Western-backed Free Syrian Army militants.
In recent months, Kurdish fighters, who are opposed to foreign interference in Syria, have been battling against foreign-backed militants in the north.
This comes as clashes continued between Kurdish militants affiliated with the Democratic Union Party and foreign-backed Takfiri militants around several villages in northeastern Syria near the border with Turkey on July 20.
Clashes intensified in Tell Abyad after the infiltration of a large number of ISIS militants in the city, which prompted many residents to run for their lives.
On July 17, the Kurdish fighters took control of the town of Ras al-Ain in the border province of Hasakah, forcing out the al-Qaeda-linked militants.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011 and many people, including large numbers of Syrian soldiers and security personnel have been killed in the prolonged violence.
Western powers and their regional allies including the Israeli regime, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are supporting anti-Syria militant groups, including al-Qaeda-linked terrorists.
MRS/PR
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