Militants Kidnap 230 Persons in Syria

 

Dozens of Christian families have been abducted by Islamic State militants after seizing a strategically located town in the central Syrian province of Homs. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 230 people were kidnapped, including dozens of Christians, some of whom were taken from a church in Qaryatain, the town captured overnight after heavy fighting with the Syrian army.

Qaryatain is near a road linking the ancient city of Palmyra to the Qalamoun mountains, along the border with Lebanon.

Islamic State has killed members of religious minorities and Sunni Muslims who do not swear allegiance to its self-declared "caliphate". They also consider Christians as infidels, Reuters reports.