A French Navy Hawkeye reconnaissance plane prepares to take off from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Gulf on February 24, 2015 as part of a campaign against the Islamic State group -© AFP/File
BEIRUT: A US-led coalition carried out air strikes against the Islamic State group in northeastern Syria Thursday after the jihadists seized at least 220 Assyrian Christians there, a monitor said.
The strikes took place around the town of Tal Tamr in the northeastern Hasakeh province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
There was no immediate information on casualties.
The strikes came after IS gunmen abducted the Assyrians during an offensive in the countryside around Tal Tamr.
The town remains under the control of Kurdish forces, but several surrounding villages have been seized by IS, along with the captives.
The kidnappings have prompted thousands more Christians to flee their homes to avoid being captured by the Sunni Muslim extremists, activists said.
At least 35 IS fighters and 25 Kurdish and Assyrian forces have been killed in three days of fighting in the region, according to the Observatory.
More than 210,000 people have been killed in Syria since the country’s conflict began in March 2011. -AFP