ISIL 'Kidnaps Scores of Christians' in Syria's Homs

Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have abducted scores of people, including several Christian families, after seizing a strategically located town in the central Syrian province of Homs, an activist group has said.The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Friday that at least 230 people had been kidnapped, including 60 Christians, some of whom were taken from a church in Qaryatain, which was captured overnight after heavy fighting with the Syrian army.
Qaryatain is near a road linking the ancient city of Palmyra to the Qalamoun mountains, along the border with Lebanon.
ISIL started the attack on Wednesday morning when three suicide bombers targeted pro-regime checkpoints at entrances to the city, the observatory said.
"IS[IL] seized Al-Qaryatain town in the southeastern countryside of Homs after violent clashes with pro-regime forces and loyalist fighters," SOHR head Rami Abdel Rahman said.
A total of 37 regime soldiers and loyalist fighters were killed, while 23 ISIL fighters also died, Abdel Rahman said.