ISIS has received millions of dollars in ransom for hundreds of kidnapped Christians. AP.

The ISIS flag. via Wikipedia. 

ISIS has received millions of dollars in ransom for a group kidnapped Assyrian Christians. AP.  The group of Christians were kidnapped last year after ISIS overran villages near the Syrian city of Hasakah. 230 Christians were held by ISIS and have now all been released. The last 40 were released today in Tal Tamr. Kidnapping for ransom is a major source of income for ISIS. They have received millions of dollars for captured air workers and journalists while they have killed others who have not been able to secure a ransom. The exact amount of money collected by ISIS for the release of the Assyrian Christians is unknown but some claim it was between $25 and $30 million. The influx of cash will probably help ISIS, who has been having financial problems lately. 

My Comment:

Yet another example of ISIS attacking Christians. ISIS has killed and captured thousands of Christians but the plight of Middle Eastern Christians has largely been ignored. Though Christians are not alone in their persecution by ISIS, you are much more likely to hear about the persecution of the Yazidi, Druze, Alawites or Shiites. 

Why is that? I have always said that the persecution of Christians in the Middle East goes against the main media narrative. According to the left, Christians are the dominate force in the world. They have "privilege" compared to other religions and by definition they can't be oppressed or attacked. So when Christians are captured by ISIS or even killed, the attacks largely don't make the news. Can't let the people know anything that goes against the media narrative. 

Of course, in the Middle East, and in other parts of the world, Christianity is largely going extinct. It isn't just in Syria, ISIS has targeted Christians in Iraq and Libya as well. And in Africa, Boko Haram has spent quite a bit of time targeting Christians. And even the governments in the middle east are hash against Christians. In Saudi Arabia, for example, the only Christians there are diplomats and allied soldiers. ISIS is probably the most active oppressors of Christians in the Middle East today but they are far from the only one. 

As for this specific story, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand I am happy that these people were released. Though Christians are treated slightly better by ISIS then other groups , the common threat against them is flee, pay a hefty tax, convert or die. Since these hostages were unable to flee and didn't have the money to pay the tax, my guess is that if they had not been released they would have had to either convert or die. The fact that they weren't killed and will be able to have some kind of life is, of course, a very good thing.

It's just that the cost is so high. Giving ISIS $25 to $30 million will help them operate for quite some time. ISIS has had some financial problems lately. The United States has bombed their cash reserves. They destroyed millions of dollars in cash which hurt ISIS so bad that they had to cut the pay for their fighters. Russia (and the United States) has also damaged their economy through the much overdue campaign against ISIS's oil production. Oil wells and oil trucks have been destroyed and ISIS's ability to gather revenue. ISIS still has taxes to extract, but other then that they have lost most of their sources of income.

By giving ISIS this money, the Assyrians are essentially giving ISIS a gift, and they are encouraging ISIS to kidnap even more civilians. Not only are they helping the people that are oppressing them, they are giving ISIS a hell of a reason to do more of this in the future.

Still, what else could the Assyrians do? It's not like they had a military to liberate these people. Nobody else would help either. ISIS isn't the priority for any of the various factions fighting in Syria. The government and rebels are fighting each other, the Kurds are only interested in defending their territory and the United States and Russians are more interested in fighting each other by proxy then defending the Assyrians. It's an impossible choice and I don't envy the Assyrians for having to make it...