Activists report dozens of Assyrian Christans kidnapped by ISIS, Two Syrian activist groups said Tuesday that ISIS terrorists have abducted at least 70 Assyrian Christians after overrunning a number of small villages in the northeast of that country.
The extremist fighters swept through the Assyrian villages nestled along the banks of Khabur River near the town of Tal Tamr in Hassakeh province around dawn on Monday. Sky News reported that control of the region is split between ISIS and opposing Kurdish fighters.
In the assault, the militants took between 70 and 100 Assyrians captive, said Nuri Kino, the head of the activist group A Demand For Action that focuses on religious minorities in the Middle East. Kino said his organization based its information on conversations with villagers who fled the onslaught and their relatives.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the abductions, but put the number of Assyrians held by ISIS at 90. The Observatory relies on a network of activists inside Syria.
Both activist groups said that most of the captives come from the village of Tal Shamiram, located some 50 miles southwest of the provincial capital of Qamishli.
Sky News reported that the abductions followed heavy fighting in the area, which is near the borders with Turkey and Iraq. The area has also been the target of several recent airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition.
Syria's official SANA news agency reported that ISIS overran seven villages during an attack on Monday.
It was not immediately clear what ISIS planned to do with the Assyrians.
The militants have a long history of killing captives, including foreign journalists, Syrian soldiers and Kurdish militiamen. Most recently, militants in Libya affiliated with ISIS released a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians.
But ISIS also could use its Assyrian captives to try to arrange a prisoner swap with the Kurdish and Christian militias that it faced off against in northeastern Syria. There is a precedent: the extremists have released Kurdish school children as well as Turkish truck drivers and diplomats after holding them for months.
The extremist fighters swept through the Assyrian villages nestled along the banks of Khabur River near the town of Tal Tamr in Hassakeh province around dawn on Monday. Sky News reported that control of the region is split between ISIS and opposing Kurdish fighters.
In the assault, the militants took between 70 and 100 Assyrians captive, said Nuri Kino, the head of the activist group A Demand For Action that focuses on religious minorities in the Middle East. Kino said his organization based its information on conversations with villagers who fled the onslaught and their relatives.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the abductions, but put the number of Assyrians held by ISIS at 90. The Observatory relies on a network of activists inside Syria.
Both activist groups said that most of the captives come from the village of Tal Shamiram, located some 50 miles southwest of the provincial capital of Qamishli.
Sky News reported that the abductions followed heavy fighting in the area, which is near the borders with Turkey and Iraq. The area has also been the target of several recent airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition.
Syria's official SANA news agency reported that ISIS overran seven villages during an attack on Monday.
It was not immediately clear what ISIS planned to do with the Assyrians.
The militants have a long history of killing captives, including foreign journalists, Syrian soldiers and Kurdish militiamen. Most recently, militants in Libya affiliated with ISIS released a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians.
But ISIS also could use its Assyrian captives to try to arrange a prisoner swap with the Kurdish and Christian militias that it faced off against in northeastern Syria. There is a precedent: the extremists have released Kurdish school children as well as Turkish truck drivers and diplomats after holding them for months.
