IS kidnaps 90 Christians in northern Syria

DAMASCUS - At least 90 Syrian Christians of the Assyrian minority have been confirmed kidnapped by the Islamic State (IS) militants from two Assyrian towns in northern Syria, a monitoring group reported Tuesday.

The IS militants snatched Monday the 90 Assyrians from the towns of Tal Shamiram and Tal Hurmoz in the countryside of the predominantly-Kurdish city of Hasaka in northern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights cited sources as saying.

It noted that the two towns are close to the town of Tal Tamer, where intense clashes have recently been raging between the IS and Kurdish militants of the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG).

Meanwhile, the Observatory added that 14 IS fighters were killed by the US -led anti-terror coalition in the southern countryside of al-Qamishly province in northern Syria.

The IS repeatedly attacked minority groups across Syria and most recently in Libya, where the terrorist-designated group snatched and executed over 20 Egyptian Coptic Christians, branding them the "worshipers of the cross."