IS hasn't yet executed any Christian Assyrians kidnapped in Syria: activists

The Islamic State (IS) militant group hasn't yet executed any of the Christian Assyrians it had abducted in northern Syria recently, a monitoring group reported Friday.

The IS fighters burnt houses in predominantly Assyrian villages it had stormed in the town of Tal Tamr in the countryside of the northeastern province of Hasaka, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Citing sources, the UK-based watchdog group said that tribal leaders in Hasaka met with Christian clergymen to mediate the release of around 220 kidnapped Assyrians.

Assyrian leaders also informed the Observatory about the ongoing efforts for the release of the abductees, saying that so far the IS group hasn't yet executed any of the snatched Assyrians. It said, however, that a court of the IS would soon give its verdict.

Earlier on Friday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the IS attack on Assyrian areas in Hasaka, saying the IS unleashed attacks on tens of predominantly Assyrian villages, including Tal Hurmoz, Tal Shamiram, Tal Rumman, Tal Nasra and many more towns in the countryside of the Hasaka province, depriving many lives and kidnapping around 200 civilians.

Over 690 families were also displaced by the IS attack, not to mention the desecration of worship places and churches, the ministry added, according to the state news agency SANA.

It added that the burnt church of Tal Hurmoz was one of the most ancient churches in Syria and the world. Endit