school children its fighters kidnapped in northern Syria in May, the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The Britain-based group said parents had reported the release of the
children, who are believed to be aged between 13 and 15.
The group of 70 were among 153 school children, most of them boys,
abducted by IS jihadists on May 29 in the northern province of Aleppo.
They were intercepted and taken hostage en route to their hometown of
Ain al-Arab after sitting school exams in Aleppo city.
They were kidnapped around the area of Minbej, which has been targeted
in recent days in air strikes by a US-led coalition fighting
jihadists.
In the weeks after the children were abducted, five students managed
to escape and another 37 were released in batches, including the 10
girls among the group, the Observatory said.
There were no immediate details on why the group decided to free the
70 additional hostages on Tuesday, and the Observatory said around 30
more children were still being held.
It said IS was refusing to hand over the 30 children because it said
they had relatives in a key Kurdish party opposed to the jihadist
group.
Ain al-Arab, known to the Kurds as Kobane, is now a major battleground
between Kurdish fighters and IS.
Located strategically on the Syria-Turkey border, it is the country's
third biggest Kurdish town.
IS fighters have been advancing towards it for the past two weeks, and
are now just three kilometres (less than two miles) from the town in
places, according to the Observatory.
The fighting has prompted a mass exodus of residents in the area, with
at least 160,000 fleeing over the border into Turkey.
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