article_snippet: New York (CNN)Kayla Mueller, Peter Kassig, Alan Henning, David Haines -- just a few of the aid workers who have been abducted and killed by ISIS in the past year.
article_snippet: ISIS holds at least one female aid worker, and possibly more.
article_snippet: Abductions and killings of aid workers are, unfortunately, nothing new, but the numbers are.
article_snippet: Not all were victims of ISIS, a relatively new phenomenon given life by the chaos in embattled Syria.
article_snippet: In fact, according to the same report, it is the Taliban who have historically kidnapped in the greatest numbers, in large part in Afghanistan.
article_snippet: Here's the difference: ISIS is changing the game.
article_snippet: The Taliban may have many reasons for abductions (flexing The Taliban muscles, negotiating prisoner releases), but The Taliban also have a record of frequent hostage release.
article_snippet: For ISIS, it appears to matter less.
article_snippet: Abducted aid workers are usually either a source of considerable income (ISIS demanded at least $6 million for Kayla Mueller, and reportedly $200 million for two Japanese hostages) or, failing that, Abducted aid workers killings provide a lurid display of brutality for the world to witness.
article_snippet: So far the number of hostages of all backgrounds freed by ISIS is extremely low, save for those whose ransoms were paid.
article_snippet: The freeing of 19 kidnapped Assyrian Christians shocked many, because release is not a common part of ISIS playbook.
article_snippet: The freeing of 19 kidnapped Assyrian Christians can serve as models to other extremist groups worldwide, who may look to emulate ISIS model of abduction and violence.
article_snippet: One example is West African extremist group Boko Haram, which released a video purportedly showing the beheading of two men claimed to be spies, an approach disturbingly similar to ISIS'.
article_snippet: Indeed, the majority of victims have been working in the majority of victims own countries.
article_snippet: ISIS doesn't just target aid workers.
article_snippet: Journalists, soldiers and anyone who conceivably could fetch a ransom are high on a ransom hit list.
article_snippet: My family is not thrilled at all because what My family see on the news is Westerners being kidnapped and beheaded ...