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US journalist released from Syria 'overwhelmed with emotion'

A US journalist released earlier this week after almost two years of imprisonment in Syria said he was "overwhelmed with emotion" because of the attention he has received upon returning home.

Peter Theo Curtis, 45, was captured in 2012 by Nusra Front and was only released on Sunday.

He said: "I suddenly remember how good the American people are, and what kindness they have in their hearts."

Meanwhile, Douglas McAuthur McCain, 33, who is suspected of fighting with Islamic State militants operating in Iraq and Syria, has been killed in the Middle East, a US security official has said.

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UN rescue 'some' Yazidi refugees from Sinjar mountain

Displaced families from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing the violence, walk on the outskirts of Sinjar. Credit: Reuters

Some of the many thousands of people trapped by Islamic State militants on Sinjar mountain in northern Iraq have been rescued in the past 24 hours, a UN Spokesman has said.

"We're just receiving the information right now. We've just heard that people over the last 24 hours have been extracted and the UN is mobilising resources to ensure that these people are assisted on arrival," David Swanson said by phone from Iraq.

Thousands of refugees from the Yazidi sect - one of Iraq's oldest minorities- are in hiding without food or water on Mount Sinjar after being forced out of their homes by Islamic State militants.

More: Islamic State fighters gain more ground in northern Iraq

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US journalist released from Syria 'overwhelmed with emotion'

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