The number of Christians taken by terrorists with the Islamic State has risen in recent days from a reported 50 to more than 220, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights found.
The terror group has targeted known Christian villages near Tal Tamr in Hassakeh province in Syria, The Associated Press reported.
The river region borders Turkey and Iraq and is one of the latest hot spots for Islamic State’s battle to control land in Syria. A lot of Kurds live there, but its mostly Christian Assyrians and Armenians, AP said.
Islamic State terrorists began their abductions of Assyrian Christians on Monday, attacking a village cluster by the Khabur River and sending thousands fleeing. Since, the group has raided 33 Assyrian villages and abducted between 200 and 300 people, said Younan Talia, a senior official with the Assyrian Democratic Organization, AP reported.
The White House has condemned the attacks and abductions as “evil,” but also, through State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, failed to recognize the Islamic State assaults as religion-based, claiming the terror group has targeted even more Muslims.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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