Isis militants have kidnapped at least 90 people from Christian villages in Syria, a human rights watchdog has said.
A number of children are thought to be among those abducted from two villages in the Northeastern part of the country.
The human rights group Syrian Observatory said sources reported hearing that Isis had detained “56 crusaders”.
It was also reported that dozens of Assyrian people were kidnapped from the village of Tal Hermez, in Hasaka province, a region divided between IS and Kurdish control.
The reported raids comes just weeks after the group released footage showing the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians on a beach in Libya, sparking an international outcry.
Rami Abdurrahman, the SOHR director, said they believe that women and children are among those taken by the group.
Nuri Kino, the head of the activist group A Demand For Action, told the Associated Press militants captured between 70 and 100 Assyrians, a number he said was based on conversations with villagers.
An Assyrian woman from Tal Shamiram who now lives in Beirut said she has been scrambling to find out what has become of her parents as well as her brother and his wife and kids.
“Land lines have been cut, their mobiles are closed,” she told AP. “Have they been slaughtered? Are they still alive? We’re searching for any news.”
“My family visited me last month and returned to Syria. There were clashes but it was normal, nothing exceptional. I feel so helpless, I cannot do anything for them but pray,” she said.
