Syrian Christians Seized by Islamic State
February 25, 2015
Before dawn on February 23, Islamic State (ISIS) militants stormed the Hassakeh province in northeastern Syria, kidnapping a number of Christians living in small villages along the Khabur River. Initial reports were of around 90 people having been kidnapped, but by today experts had increased the number to closer to 300. It is not certain why ISIS would kidnap such a large number of Christians. In one hopeful scenario, experts thought perhaps the jihadist group hopes to swap its kidnap victims for ISIS fighters held prisoner by Kurdish forces.
Islamic State (ISIS) fighters during a military parade in Raqqa, Syria, in 2014, shown in propaganda photos released by the militants. Raqqa forms the de facto capital of the largely unrecognized “caliphate” formed by ISIS in 2014. (Credit: © Alamy Images)
The Christians living in this small area of Syria are Assyrian, or Syriac, Christians. They are Nestorians, meaning they belong to a sect of Christianity that follows the teachings of Nestorius, who was made Patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul today) in 428. The Assyrian Christians speak a dialect of Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus Christ and his disciples.
Assyrian Christians are found in Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq. Many have fled their ancient homelands. Fighting in Syria, Iran, and Iraq has made life dangerous for this group. Despite having lived in the Middle East for thousands of years, they are often targeted by Islamic extremists because of their religion. In addition to ISIS, Al-Qa`ida and the Jabhat al-Nusra Brigade target Christians in the Middle East. More than 600,000 Assyrian Christians are currently living as refugees in Turkey, having fled Syria.
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