BEIRUT — Islamic State militants seized more Christians from their homes in northeastern Syria in the past three days, bringing the total number abducted by the extremist group to more than 220, activists said Thursday.
An Assyrian in Beirut whose parents and sister were among a dozen relatives abducted said he called his father’s cellphone Monday and got a man who said: “This is the Islamic State.”
The man then briefly put the Assyrian’s father on the line, and he said in a terrified voice not to worry, that they were being treated well. His relatives’ phones have been shut off. The Beirut resident spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared for the lives of his family members.
The abductions began Monday, when militants attacked villages along the Khabur River, sending thousands of people fleeing to safer areas. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the militants picked up dozens more Assyrians from 11 communities near the town of Tal Tamr in the next few days.
The province, which borders Turkey and Iraq, has become the latest battleground in the fight against the Islamic State 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 Organization, said the Islamic State had raided 33 Assyrian villages, seizing as many as 300 people.
