Like all religious extremists the world has witnessed over the centuries, they prove to be relentless.
Two hundred thirty Syrians, including at least 60 Christians, were feared to be captured by ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham) near Syrian village Al-Qaryatain in Central Syria. Demand for Action's President, Nuri Kino, who works on behalf of Syrian religious minorities, confirmed in a statement that these Syrians went missing after clashes in and around the village.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reports that the Syrians were captured last Thursday - a day after the Syrian village was taken over by the extremists, according to The News Hub. Three ISIS suicide bombers were said to have set their eyes on the village's army checkpoints located at the entrance.
The militants particularly seized Christians as well as Syrian Regime allies. Around 500 people remain unaccounted for, according to CNN.
Director for Christian Assyrian Network for Human Rights in Syria Osama Edward said in a statement to the Associated Press that around 60 Christians were indeed taken but half of them were released and have made it to the nearby villages. Furthermore, Secretary of the Syriac Orthodox patriarchate in Damascus, Bishop Matta al-Khoury said that he could not confirm what happened "because it is very difficult to reach the people"
Home to around 40,000 Sunni Muslims, Christians, and internally displaced people from Homs, the ISIS' capture of Al-Qaryatain is considered their most significant feat yet since taking over the ancient city of Palmyra last May. The move was said to be a strategic and targeted one as villages like Al-Qaryatain are key routes used to ferry supplies and fighters. As such, this allows ISIS to link up areas under its control in and around Palmyra with areas in the eastern countryside of Qalamoun in Damascus province, The Daily Mail reports.
Last June, ISIS militants were found to be expelled from Tal Abyad, a key route in the Northern border by Kurdish fighters and its allies. Following this was the news that Turkey started carrying out airstrikes against ISIS in Syria in late July. Turkey also gave US warplanes permission to use strategic Incirlik Air Base for anti-ISIS operations, according to The Daily Mail.
The ultra-orthodox Sunni organization, ISIS, is known for numerous cases of rapes, kidnappings, beheadings, and ethnic cleansing. Accused by the United Nations of crimes against humanity, ISIS is guilty of more than 2,000 executions in Syria's neighboring country Iraq.
