DAMASCUS, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- The hostages kidnapped by Islamic State (IS) militants in the southern province of Sweida re-appeared on Wednesday in a new video calling for their release, 50 days after their abduction, a monitor group reported.

One of the hostages in the video said she and other hostages are fine, calling for help to set them free, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"We, captives of the IS, are fine and none of us got hurt, but no one is working to set us free ... We hope that all those who see us in this video help and set us free," the female hostage was quoted as saying by the Observatory.

The hostages were hustled from their homes during an IS offensive on the town of Shbeki in the eastern countryside of Sweida on July 25.

During the offensive, the IS militants killed more than 260 civilians and fighters, who attempted to defend the town from the surprise IS attack launched from the desert region.

Since then, reports have emerged about the futile negotiations between the Syrian and Russian side with the IS kidnappers.

After the IS attack, the Syrian army launched a wide-scale offensive against IS militants in Sweida countryside, managing to besiege them in a rugged area in the remote eastern countryside of Sweida near the provincial border of the capital Damascus.

Earlier in the day, state news agency SANA said the Syrian army tightened the noose on the IS remnants in the Tulol al-Safa rugged area, the last IS stronghold in the desert of Sweida. Enditem

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