Human Rights Watch urged on Saturday the ISIS terrorist group in southern Syria to release at least 27 hostages it had abducted from the Suweida region in July.
The group of mostly women and children were abducted by ISIS during a massive July 25 assault on the Druze community in Suweida, in which the terrorists killed more than 250 people.
They are being held by ISIS to use as leverage in negotiations with the Syrian regime and its ally Russia, according to HRW.
"Hostage-taking is a war crime," the rights group said.
"Civilian lives should not be used as bargaining chips," said its deputy Middle East director Lama Fakih.
Of more than 30 people taken hostage in the July offensive, at least two have since died.
A 19-year-old male student was executed.
Later in August a 65-year-old woman died, with ISIS reporting she had been unwell.
Additionally, two women were able to escape after being abducted from their home, a family member told HRW.
Villagers provided the names of at least 27 people who remain in ISIS captivity, with children as young as seven among them, according to activists in Suweida province.
