IS destroys Syrian monastery, tranfers Christian captives
Extremist group Islamic State's militants have demolished a monastery
in the central Syrian province of Homs, the Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights said on Thursday.
The group has also transferred several dozen Christians, captured
during its offensive, to a location near its stronghold in northeastern
Syria, the monitor said.
Militants used bulldozers to raze the monastery in the town of Qaryatain, a strategically-located town wrestled from government control by the jihadist group in early August, the Britain-based Observatory added.
Syrian government's warplanes were still pounding the area with air strikes two weeks after Islamic State captured the town.
Qaryatain is near a road linking the ancient Roman city of Palmyra to the Qalamoun mountains, along the border with Lebanon.
The hardliner militant group has been gaining ground in the desert areas east and south of Homs after it took over Palmyra last May.
The Syrian army has launched a large-scale counteroffensive to recapture the city, which lies in a region where some of Syria's largest gas fields are located, but so far it has made no significant advances.
Islamic State militants captured 230 people, including dozens of Christian families after taking over Qaryatain, the monitor reported at the time.
Of those captured, 48 had been released and 110 were transferred to Raqqa province, whose capital city Raqqa is an IS stronghold, the monitor claimed.
Christians would be given the choice of conversion to Islam or paying "jizya", a tax imposed on non-Muslims, the monitor said, citing "informed sources."
The fate of the remaining 70 people captured after the seizure of Qaryatain was unclear.
Among them were 45 women and 19 children, including 11 families, some of whom were on the IS' wanted list, said the monitor, which tracks the violence of Syria's civil war through an extensive network of sources on ground.
Islamic State has killed members of religious minorities and Sunni Muslims who do not swear allegiance to its self-declared "caliphate". They also consider Christians as infidelsSource: http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/is-destroys-syrian-monastery-tranfers-christian-captives/article1-1382485.aspx
Militants used bulldozers to raze the monastery in the town of Qaryatain, a strategically-located town wrestled from government control by the jihadist group in early August, the Britain-based Observatory added.
Syrian government's warplanes were still pounding the area with air strikes two weeks after Islamic State captured the town.
Qaryatain is near a road linking the ancient Roman city of Palmyra to the Qalamoun mountains, along the border with Lebanon.
The hardliner militant group has been gaining ground in the desert areas east and south of Homs after it took over Palmyra last May.
The Syrian army has launched a large-scale counteroffensive to recapture the city, which lies in a region where some of Syria's largest gas fields are located, but so far it has made no significant advances.
Islamic State militants captured 230 people, including dozens of Christian families after taking over Qaryatain, the monitor reported at the time.
Of those captured, 48 had been released and 110 were transferred to Raqqa province, whose capital city Raqqa is an IS stronghold, the monitor claimed.
Christians would be given the choice of conversion to Islam or paying "jizya", a tax imposed on non-Muslims, the monitor said, citing "informed sources."
The fate of the remaining 70 people captured after the seizure of Qaryatain was unclear.
Among them were 45 women and 19 children, including 11 families, some of whom were on the IS' wanted list, said the monitor, which tracks the violence of Syria's civil war through an extensive network of sources on ground.
Islamic State has killed members of religious minorities and Sunni Muslims who do not swear allegiance to its self-declared "caliphate". They also consider Christians as infidelsSource: http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/is-destroys-syrian-monastery-tranfers-christian-captives/article1-1382485.aspx
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