The last 19 Druze women and children abducted by ISIS in July from the southern Syrian province of Sweida were freed Thursday and welcomed by their relatives, Damascus announced.
The terrorist group seized on July 25 about 30 people when it rampaged through Sweida from a desert enclave outside the city, killing more than 200 people and detonating suicide vests.
ISIS executed a 19-year-old male student among the hostages in August and then a 25-year-old woman in early October.
The militants said a 65-year-old woman held by the group died from illness.
Two women and four children were released last month in a first step of an agreement that also saw women and children related to ISIS extremists freed from regime jails.
Local journalist Nour Radwan said the hostages were brought to a military base in the north of Sweida province, where they were met by family members. The group would next head to Sweida city, where dozens of people had gathered to welcome them home, said Radwan.
State TV aired footage of the women, children and teenagers in a desert area standing with soldiers who gave them bread and water. The soldier then asked the women and children for their names and wrote them on a piece of paper. The TV later aired footage showing the former hostages having meals around a table.
