Headlines
IS kidnaps 220 Assyrian Christians in Syria
Damascus, Feb 26
The number of Assyrian
Christians kidnapped by the Islamic State (IS) Sunni radical group in
northern Syria has risen to 220 over the past three days, a monitoring
group reported Thursday.
The IS kidnapped the Assyrians from 11
villages in the town of Tal Tamr, which is considered the capital of the
Syrian Assyrians in the northern province of al-Hasakah, Xinhua news
agency reported citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The IS recently unleashed an offensive against Assyrian towns and
villages.
Citing sources, the SOHR said those abducted were taken
to an area in the Abdul-Aziz mountain southwest of Tal Tamr, adding
that the IS managed to capture people around that town, amid a large
wave of displacement among the Assyrians to nearby areas.
It
cited Assyrian sources as saying that negotiations with the IS were
taking place via mediators for the release of the kidnapped people.
The same sources confirmed that the IS also burnt down two churches in the countryside of Tal Tamr.