Early Tuesday morning, the Islamic State abducted dozens of Assyrian Christians. Around 4 a.m. the militants entered the villages in northeastern Syria and kidnapped at least 90 Christians, reports the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Hundreds of other Assyrians fled from the militants; a group called A Demand for Action claims that 3,000 Assyrians were forced to flee in the attack .
The exact condition of the abducted Assyrian Christians is uncertain, though the Islamic State has been known to execute their Christian prisoners. In the past, the Islamic State have killed many of their captives, or forced them to convert to Islam. The most recent hostage video from the Islamic State showed the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians. It is possible, however, that the Islamic State will use the captives in a prisoner swap with the Kurdish militia.
Most of the captured villagers are from Tal Shamiram, which is one in a group of villages near Tal Tamr. The Christians in Syria are a minority group, and are caught in the middle of the civil war in Syria that has killed over 200,000 people and dislocated over 7 million in its current duration of four years. They are under fire from both the Islamic State and Syrian militia.
Kurdish forces have been engaged in heavy combat with Islamic State forces near the Turkish and Syrian border. After clashes on Monday and Tuesday, Islamic State forces have claimed a cluster of villages near Tal Tamr, which resulted in the abduction of the Assyrian Christians. Military officials from both the U.S. and Kurdish forces state that the Islamic State militants are losing ground in various territory and therefore attempting to conquer different areas. The U.S. has been continually conducting airstrikes on the IS and the Kurdish militia has been regaining territory after the victory at Kobani. Earlier this month, President Obama requested Congress to grant him war powers in the fight against the IS, but a decision has not been made.
