ISIS releases Christian captives alive - Praise God!

Roughly 230 Assyrian Christians were released after ISIS received millions in ransom.

ISIS militants kidnapped hundreds of Assyrian Christians last year. Now, after accepting a considerable ransom, the final 42 of 230 Christians have been released.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The Christians were originally ransomed for $18 million, but negotiations lowered their price of freedom to an unknown number.

Osama Edward, the director of the Assyrian Human Rights Network, said 42 Christians, mostly composed of younger women and children, were released from ISIS' clutches.

A Syrian Christian figure admitted: "We paid large amounts of money, millions of dollars, but not $18 million. We paid less than half the amount."

Unfortunately, when the group was abducted, five Assyrians were reported missing. Their whereabouts remain unknown.

The Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organisation (ACERO) helped free the hostages and released a video depicting the newly freed Christians singing God praise.

Joseph Haweil, an ACERO spokesman, said: "The captives who have been incrementally released over the last year have suffered inordinate psychological trauma. The attempted destruction of Assyrian continuity in Syria is only the latest instalment [sic] in more than a decade of intense persecution suffered by the indigenous Assyrians throughout the Middle East.

"Today however [sic] the Assyrian people have witnessed a ray of light from amidst the darkness. We pray that all of Syria's suffering people may also see this light of hope."

Syrian Christians have been escaping their war-torn homes to flee to Europe over the past two decades. 

Sadly, since last February's attack, ISIS has besieged other Assyrian sites, including the 2,000-year-old city of Hata.

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