It's been reported that the Assyrian Church of the East has secured the release of 37 hostages held by Islamic State.

The Church is believed to have paid up to £33,000 for each hostage, however this has not been confirmed.

The 37 hostages, 27 women and 10 men, are all elderly and in good health.

They were released from a group of Christian hostages, believed to be around 253 in total, who were originally abducted from the northeastern Syrian province of Al-Hasakah in February.

The release comes after 22 elderly Assyrian men and women were released in August for an undisclosed fee.

Islamic State said on its Facebook page that it's now released 88 of the group it kidnapped from Al-Hasakah in February.

A video released by the militant group appeared to show them murder approximately three of the hostages last month.

Given the varying estimates on how many Assyrian Christians were originally kidnapped, it is uncertain how many remain in IS captivity.