Syrian activists say air strikes have targeted Islamic State (IS) positions in northeastern Syria where the extremist group abducted more than 200 Assyrian Christians this week.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on February 26 that the U.S.-led alliance against the IS group targeted the militants near the town of Tel Tamr.
That’s where IS fighters captured a string of villages inhabited by Christian Assyrians over the past three days, kidnapping at least 220 members of the Christian minority.
Echove Gouriye, head of the Syriac Union Party, an Assyrian organization, told RFE/RL on February 26 that many of those kidnapped were taken to Al-Shadade.
He called on the international community to help Assyrians "defend our historical areas and our life in the region."
Kurdish and Christian militia are battling IS fighters in the area amid reports of churches being destroyed.
The Sunni militants, who control large swaths of Syria and Iraq, have killed hundreds of members of religious minorities.