27 IS-held hostages from Syria's Sweida could soon be released under Russia-backed deal

DAMASCUS - A deal for Islamic State (IS) militants to release 27 Syrian hostages from the southern province of Sweida could be soon reached, a war monitor reported Thursday.

According to a Russia-backed deal reached through mediators, the 27 Syrians, 18 children and nine women, could soon be set free from IS captivity, if 60 women, apparently relatives of IS militants, are released from the government prisons, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

As part of the Russia-backed deal, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Force (SDF) will also release some of the IS relatives it captured in northern Syria, the London-based watchdog added.

However, there is no specific timetable for the implementation of the deal despite anticipation, the watchdog noted.

On July 25, IS militants attacked areas in the eastern countryside of Sweida and conducted bombings in the namesake provincial capital, killing 260, and kidnapping 30.

Three of the hostages had died in captivity: one dying from her tough medical condition and two others killed by the IS.

The abduction has created tension in Sweida, which has remained relatively calm during Syria's more than seven-year war.

After the IS attack in July, the Syrian Army launched a counter-offensive against the militant group in the eastern countryside of Sweida and besieged it in the Tulol al-Safa hills.

It's not yet clear whether IS militants will be allowed to leave to the desert region under the new deal.