Islamist fighters who captured a Christian village north of Damascus have moved 12 nuns to a nearby town in what may have been a kidnapping, the Vatican's ambassador to Syria said on Tuesday.
The militants took the ancient quarter of Maaloula on Monday after heavy fighting with government forces. Syrian state media said they were holding the nuns captive in the Greek Orthodox monastery of Mar Thecla.
Ambassador Mario Zenari told AFP that 12 Syrian and Lebanese Orthodox nuns had been abducted by rebels. All communications with the town have been cut since Monday, an AFP correspondent in Damascus said.