The
following excerpts are from AINA.org:
Kurdish
and Christian militiamen battled Islamic State militants Wednesday in
northeastern Syria, where the extremist group abducted at least 150
people from Assyrian Christian villages, according to activists.
Hassakeh
province, which borders Turkey and Iraq, has become the latest
battleground for the fight against the terror group Islamic State,
also known as ISIS. It is predominantly Kurdish, but also has
populations of Arabs and predominantly Assyrian Christians and
Armenians.
A
Syrian Christian group representing several NGOs inside and outside
Syria told Reuters it had confirmed at least 150 people missing --
including women and the elderly -- after the villages were overrun by
ISIS.
"We
have verified at least 150 people who have been abducted from sources
on the ground," said Bassam Ishak, President of the Syriac
National Council of Syria.
ISIS
has not confirmed the kidnappings, but online, supporters have posted
pictures of the group's fighters looking at maps and firing machine
guns. The photos were purportedly taken in Tel Tamr, a town near
where the abductions occurred, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights said.
In
pre-dawn attacks Monday, Islamic State militants raided communities
nestled along the Khabur River. Thousands of others fled to safer
areas.
The
fate of those kidnapped, almost all of them Assyrian Christians,
remained unclear on Wednesday -- two days after they were seized. The
abduction added to fears among religious minorities in both Syria and
Iraq, who have been repeatedly targeted by ISIS. During the group's
bloody campaign in both countries, where it has declared a
self-styled caliphate, minorities have been repeatedly targeted and
killed, driven from their homes, had their women enslaved and places
of worship destroyed.
The
Assyrians are indigenous Christian people who trace their roots back
to the ancient Mesopotamians.
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more by clicking below:
Kurdish, Assyrian Forces Battle ISIS As Fate of 150 Reported Hostages Unclear
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