Militants of the so-called \’Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant\’ (ISIL) takfiri group operating in Syria have kidnapped at least 90 Assyrian Christians in northeast of the country.
Militants of the so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL) takfiri group operating in Syria have kidnapped at least 90 Assyrian Christians in northeast of the country, the opposition UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Wednesday.
The Observatory said the abductions took place on Tuesday after ISIL terrorists seized two Assyrian villages from Kurdish forces in the province of al-Hasakah, the Reuters news agency reported.
However, news websites reported that the abductions have followed dawn raids in villages inhabited by the ancient Christian minority near the town of Tel Hmar, a mainly Assyrian town, in the western countryside of Hasakah, which has been recently restored by the Kurds.
The latest offensive coincides with a push by Syrian Kurds in northeastern Syria near the Iraqi border since Sunday that had compounded losses for the takfiri group in Syria.
Earlier, the opposition monitor said at least 56 people had been kidnapped in the village of Tal Shamiram.
Syria was hit by a violent unrest since mid-March 2011, where the western media reports accuse countries, mainly the USA, Turkey and Saudi Arabia of orchestrating the civil conflict in the country and providing terrorist groups with money, weapons and trained mercenaries.
Takfiri groups, funded by some western and Arab states, have been divided over power disputes. The most brutal ones are the ISIL and al-Nusra Front that are engaged into clashes, inflicting each other heavy losses.
Syrian army launched in May 2013 a wide military operations across Syria to liberate town from ISIL and other takfiri groups' occupation.