Islamic State abducts 220 Christians in Syria, monitors say

The number of Christians abducted by Islamic State in north-eastern Syria has risen to 220, activists say.

The militants have picked up dozens more Christian Assyrians from 11 communities near the town of Tal Tamr in the past three days, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

IS began abducting the Assyrians on Monday when militants attacked a cluster of villages along the Khabur River, sending thousands of people fleeing to safer areas.

The Khabur River, in Hassakeh province, which borders Turkey and Iraq, has become the latest battleground in the fight against IS in Syria. It is predominantly Kurdish but also has populations of Arabs and predominantly Christian Assyrians and Armenians.

Younan Talia, a senior official with the Assyrian Democratic Organisation, said IS had raided 33 Assyrian villages.

A coalition air strike near the Iraqi border town of al-Qaim killed at least 17 Islamic State militants and nine civilians overnight, according to a hospital source .

Arabic channel al-Arabiya al-Hadath said Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was there, citing “anonymous sources”, but the information could not be confirmed.

The source in al-Qaim hospital said 29 militants were wounded in the strike targeting Islamic State positions in al-Rumana and Husaiba areas, and some were taken across the border to Syria for treatment.

Islamic State daily radio broadcast al-Bayan said “Crusader Safavid” air strikes near al-Qaim had killed three people and wounded others including women and children, using the derogatory term they use for the anti- Islamic State coalition.

Al-Qaim is about 330 km northwest of Baghdad. Separately, coalition planes bombed al-Rutba district, 385 km west of Baghdad, killing six Islamic State militants and 11 civilians, according to a source in the local hospital.

AP/Reuters