Activists say efforts are under way to try to negotiate the release of more than 220 Syrian Christians who were kidnapped last week by the Islamic State group, although no progress has been made. Osama Edward, director of the Assyrian Network for Human Rights in Syria, and Younan Talia, a senior official in the Assyrian Democratic Organization, say Sunni tribal sheikhs are trying to establish contact with IS. [related-post] Talia said Sunday there has been no response yet. Islamic State fighters took the captives last week after sweeping through several villages in Syria's northeastern Hassakeh province. The fate of those kidnapped, almost all of them Assyrian Christians, remains unclear. The abductions have compounded fears among religious minorities in Syria and Iraq, where the Islamic State group's fighters have repeatedly targeted minorities.
