The Islamic State group has seized at least 90 Assyrian Christians in Syria, in the jihadists' first mass kidnapping of Christians in the war-torn country, a monitor said Tuesday.
The abductions appeared to be in retaliation for a major Kurdish offensive aimed at recapturing nearby villages, and which has killed 132 jihadists in four days, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Britain-based monitor said IS kidnapped the Assyrians on Monday after seizing two villages, Tal Shamiram and Tal Hermuz, in Hassakeh province from the control of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).
The group had no immediate details on those kidnapped, including whether women and children were among them, or where they were being held.