observatory for human rights, 90 christians from the ancient syrian christian minority were kidnapped in northeastern syria. they come come from two villages which are close to a town under kurdish control. we understand that early on tuesday morning isil fighters launched raised and attacks. clashes broke out with the kurdish-syrian fighters there and as a result, the kidnappings happen. these kidnappings coincide with the major push by syrian kurdish fighters in northeastern syria and close to the border with iraq that ever compounded heavy losses for isil and kicked them out of areas that they had once controlled. as well, these kidnappings are believed to be in retaliation for these attacks by kurdish grooms and to take revenge of what the kurdish groups were able to do by pushing out isil by basically kidnapping a large number of people who belonged to a minority in syria that kurdish fighters are protecting. these kidnappings come just over a week after isil and libya issued a graphic video showing the executions of 21 christian egyptians and un

>> well according to the syrian observatory for human rights at least 90 residents, christian from thent minority in northeastern syria were kidnapped by i.s.i.l. fighters on tuesday morning. they come from the towns of mainly a syrian and christian towns and they are close to the christian town which is controlled by kurdish fighters which is called teltamid and engaged in syrian and kurdish fighters there and as a result after that the christians were kidnapped. now we understand that these kidnappings coincide with major push by syrian fighters in northeast syria on the border of iraq and syria in resent days and compounded i.s.i.l. in the area and director of the syrian observatory for human rights said he believes that these kidnappings are a retaliation against the kurdish fighters to take revenge, get revenge from kurdish fighters for pushing i.s.i.l. from northeastern syria and weakening their position by kidnapping christians who work together with kurdish fighters and protected by the kurdish syrian fighters in syria. this comes after a week after i.s.i.l. released the video

>> well what they'd like to do ultimately is drive the christians out of syria. the syrianhristians the people who had been kidnapped in eastern syria, have traditionally been allied with the minority shia regime in damascus. so they're very much tainted in this civil war in syria. very much considered the enemy, if you like. and the fact they're calling them crusaders makes me worry about their fate. remember these people have been there before. islam in that part of the world. it would be a true tragedy if the christians were run out of the middle east. >> remember bobby, these are women and children elderly people not just men who are fighters. they kidnapped 90 christians and we don't know what they're going to do with them. >> indeed. they kidnap people for all kind of reasons. for ransom that's a big source of income for isis. but unfortunately, we have also seen those gruesome videos of the other things they do with the people they kidnap. the hope is that because these people were taken from a region that is run essentially by syrian kurds that are already fighting

the terrorists abducting about 150 syrian christians from a syrian village.m women and children. what will happen next? >>> meanwhile, we have an update on the whereabouts of those british girls believed to be trying to join isis. so we will bring you all of that when chris, michaela and i see you at the top of the hour. >> thank you so much alisyn. >>> so you get the sense that vice president joe biden -- vice president joe biden taking cues from christine romans. he knows he's got some personal space issues. he knows that people are talking about them. we'll tell you more next. can call me shallow... but, i have a wandering eye. i mean, come on. national gives me the control to choose any car in the aisle i want. i could choose you... or i could choose her if i like her more. and i do. oh, the silent treatment. real mature. so you wanna get out of here? go national. go like a pro. you get sick you can't breathe through your nose suddenly, you're a mouth breather. a mouth breather! well, put on a breathe right strip and shut your mouth. cold medicines open y

and syrian christians in syria that are willing to take up arms. they have to. they are wise. their territory. villages they have been in for 2,000 years, a generation after christ. they have been wiped out of their homes. there's plenty of individuals that their livelihoods and lives are at stake. those are the very people we should be getting behind and arming not next month but not. >> what's the point? when you look at the history of islam and so many instances incredibly tolerant of other religions living side by side in muslim communities, what is isis doing here by targeting and killing christians? >> listen isis they are 21st century terrorists embraceing a 7th century acts of harborism. that is what they are embracing. they are the ideology that must be addressed. this is not just something the west or america's going to solve. the larger issue with isis is going to be solved within islam and the larger community not only needs to stand up and condemn the acts but take proactive actions. those are

fighters and come from the syrian christian villages which also happens to be close to a town which isolled by kurdish syrians and is also mainly a syrian town. we understand what happened according to the observatory for human rights is that i.s.i.l. fighters attacked early on tuesday morning and there were clashes that broke out between kurdish fighters and i.s.i.l. fighters and then the abductions happened. we also understand that the abductions also coincide with a major push by syrian kurds in northeast syria and close to the border with iraq that have compounded severe losses for aisle in syria in resent days so this may also be a retaliation by i.s.i.l. fighters against syrian kurdish fighters for these losses for i.s.i.l. in syria that have weakened i.s.i.l.'s position because as well the kurdish fighters are known to be protecting minorities like the minority christian syrian group inside syria. now, also this comes just over a week after i.s.i.l. and libya issued a graphic video showing the executions of 21 coptic christians from egypt in libya so there are fears over the abd

kidnapped dozens of syrian christians. the numbers of syrians captured rose to 220. they were taken captive from veil edges in the nearby provinces. more from zeina khodr monitoring developments from beirut. deuce, activists reported that syrian christians were captured by the islamic state of iraq and levant in hasaki. they put the number at 90 at the time. they revising it saying that they've been in contact with community leaders as well as activists on the ground family members, and say 220 syrian christians are host edges, and their whereabouts are not known. there are conflicting reports. some say that i.s.i.l. took them to a strong hold of shaked adde south of the city. the community, as you can imagine is worried about the fate. they don't know if they are alive or ted. i.s.i.l. have not made demands and it's unclear if they'll be exchanged in a prisoner swap. we under arab tribal leaders on the ground are trying to mediate a deal to release these people. this is not the first time i.s.i.l. captured people. they captured hundreds if not thousands. this is the

christian villages in a province in the northeast of syria. what we understand is that there was heavy fighting many syrian christians managed to flee but's ill ged to capture at least 90 people. we have been in touch for the syrian observatory for human rights, and they still don't know, really how many of the 90 are women and children. is there have been reports that among them are women and children. this has happened across the border in this iraq. we ah isil attack christians in mosul. we also saw them target the minority yazidis community in northwest iraq so right now the community is worried about the fate of these 90 people appealing for help. it's not clear whether the u.s.-lead coalition will be able to help them because these people could be useded a human shields by isil. >>> there are about 100 million christians persecuted across the world. iraq and syria are the most dangerous countries in the middle east for christians. more than 70% of iraq's christian population have fled since 2003. and more than 140,000 christians have been forced to flee. since syria's civil war began in 2011, 700,000 christians have been forced from thei

organization for human rights yesterday morning at about 4:00 a group of isis fighters entered two syrian christian villages in the northeastern syrian province. they took 150 people prisoner mostly women, children and the elderly. we don't know their fate at this point. we also understand that about 600 to 700 families fled that area and are now taking refuge in a church in the town which is the capital of that province. so a very worrying situation there. of course this happened in the past -- now, just to give you an idea what's going on behind me john we're in a valley north of erbil where coalition troops including italian forces here are training kurdish fighters in the use of anti-tank missiles. this is part of a large program that is being conducted not just in kurdistan but also in the rest of iraq to try to bring up the capabilities in this instance of the peshmerga. now, here we have dutch, we have british, german and italian troops who are providing training and things like detecting ieds, providing first aid on the front. so it's a big program here. and it's also occasionally pretty no

syrian observatory for human rights another organization that monitors the situation in syria, 90 syrian christians have been abducted by isis. now, there are reports, for instance that isis in fact isis fighters were overheard on their radios talking about capturing what they called crusaders. now, we understand from the syrian human rights network that around 700 families have fled that area. they've taken refuge in churches in the capital of that province. it's important to keep in mind that the kurdish fighters the group in syria, the ypg, have been pushing isis back since they retook the town of kobani right on the turkish border. and this appears to be some sort of counter move by isis to open a new front. many of the syrian men who weren't in that village have actually joined with the kurdish fighters to fight isis. what we may be seeing is a form of revenge. ana? >> general, what do you make of this? it doesn't seem like that long ago we were talking about the yazidis, another minority religious group that was threatened in iraq. now it had kind of quieted down. suddenly these innocent chri

. >> we begin in syria, where 90 people from a syrian christian village have been kidnapped by the islamic state of iraq and levant. i.s.i.l. attacked the villages monday morning. we are joined live from imam what more details are you getting about this? >> well what we know is from our source which is a monitor on the ground and is saying 90 christians from the ancient christian minority have been kidnapped in north-east syria by i.s.i.l. fighters. these christians apparently come from two villages. there was fighting that was happening in a town that is close to the two villages between i.s.i.l. fighters and syrian kurdish fighters who control many of the areas there. and that town's name is tel-tamar. in response to the fight, and in response to a push by syrian kurdish fighters that has really kicked i.s.i.l. out of many areas in north-eastern syria, it appears that this came in retaliation, these abductions to this kurdish push. we know that kurdish fighters in syria are trying to gain more control of towns and villages in north-eastern syria, and close to the border with iraq. as of

more than 200 christian syrians in the past three days. in new york, meanwhile, authorities arrested three men suspected in an isis terror plot. each is accused of planning to wage jihad for isis. prosecutors say one man offered to kill president obama. two suspects from uzbekistan the other from kazakhstan. >>> now to politics and a showdown looming on capitol hill as the clock ticks down to a homeland security shutdown. less than 48 hours from now the department of homeland security will run out of money. that's if lawmakers don't approve new funding. what's the holdup? house republicans are tying their yes votes to president obama dropping his order allowing 5 million immigrants to avoid deportation. >> american citizens first, not illegal alien first. >> this is not the time to engage in activities that would threaten our capabilities. >> now, senate lawmakers are expected to vote on a funding plan later today. laura? >>> new marijuana laws in the nation's capital is stirring up a fight between the city of washington, d.c. and the fede

there's a large syrian christian community here in the bay area. ome of them here after fleeing from persecution. a persecution that continues for syrians in their homeland. >> reporter: a predawn raid by isi s . it happened in villages in northeast syria on monday. an atrocity a world away, the pain felt here at home. >> i have 20 cousins from that village that have been kidnapped. >> reporter: peter betbasdo is a christian syrian. and he got ahold of them. >> nobody can get in touch with their loved ones. the phones are being answered by isis. >> reporter: the kidnaps raise concern. a worry felt strongly here at the assyrian association. >> we as a community we could not assist them not to get in this trouble. >> reporter: gonje is an assyrian community leader. he says this attack forced many to flee their homes. many without food or water. often persecuted and ignored as they fight isis. >> for me as an assyrian american it's sad to say that our people they have not even received one bullet from the united states government. not in iraq, not in s

. >>> leaders of the syrian christian community say they now believe 150 people have been abducted by islamic state militants in the north of the country and say many more are trapped fighting between kurdish and is mill aitantmilitants. good to see you. the ones abducted mainly women and children you think? >> a mixture of women and children older people and fighters. >> many more still trapped in the fighting. they can't escape. >> yes. there is a lot of fighting going on in this area south and east of hasica. and many people trapped unable to get out. 4,000 people managed to flee the area. >> many syrian christians taken so far or is this the first major incident of its kind? >> this is a situation developing after the end of the siege of kobani and defeat of isis there. we had a situation where the kurdish force, backed by other christian militias and armed militias there trying to push isis out of the area. isis themselves have started attacking inging inging hasica a kurdish area that sits on the border of turkey and syria and iraq. if isis manages to get this it will be a huge

. >> can i ask you for the update on the syrian christians taken by is? >> the details are still unclear. sources -- the numbers we have four estimates of how many people were abducted between 19 and 285. we do not know their whereabouts . the ice is stronghold -- another isis stronghold or in the mountain range. a large number of syrian christians have pleaded the area -- flleeed the area. a large number of people fled this area. thousands of the fled -- that would meet several thousand people. nothing like the exodus of people fleeing isis in iraq, but a substantial part of their committee. the question is what the intentions of isis are, the purpose of this abduction. perhaps they want to use them as a prisoner swap. to the pessimistic end, to make another propaganda video. airstrikes will continue. unfortunately, as we know, the islamic state has followed through with those kinds of threats when they made them. >> one person has been killed and two others wounded in a bomb explosion in the egyptian capital. the blast occurred outside a pizzeria in cai

. >> on tuesday activists reported that syrian christians were taken. they put the number at 90. they are now revising it, saying that they've been in contact with community leaders, as well as activists on the ground, family members. they now say 220 syrian christians are hostages and their whereabouts are not known. there are conflicting reports that some say isil took them to the stronghold south of the city. the community as you can imagine is worried about their fate, they don't know if they're alive or dead. isil has not made demands and it is not clear if they will agree to exchange them in a prisoner swap. what we understand is that arab tribal leaders on the ground are trying to mediate some sort of deal to release these people. this is not the first time isil has captured people. they've captured hundreds if not thousands in syria and iraq, but this is the first time they captured such a large number of christians at once. >> the funerals are being held in afghanistan after 190 people died in a series of avalanches in the northeast of the country. homes, schools and mosq

all that area is mentioned is where those christian syrian christians have been abducted bill. l: any estimates how many of those a syrian christians? we heard 90. we heard 150. what have we learned about their fate john? >> reporter: bill, i got off the phone with a guy named sam edward. he is director of syrian human rights network. he said the number is at 150. he said his wife's aunt is among those who have been taken hostage. he says the men and women have been split up. the men taken to a mountain news area in the region. women and children. bill: by the way distressing children are among those who have been abducted. the children and women have been split up and separated into various villages and towns in that area. when i asked him what is isis planning to do with them? he says their three main goals. one possibly use them as a bargaining chip to swap for prisoners, isis militants detained by opposition forces. two, use them as human shields. three to instill terror and fear of all those in that region bill. bill: john, something we're keeping close eye on as best we ca

lead coalition has launched air strikes against isil positions in an area where 255 syrian christianse on abducted this week. they were taken captive as the group advanced in one province. more from zana hoda who reports from beirut. >> reporter: on tuesday, activists reported that a syrian christians were captured by the islamic state of iraq and the levant. at the time they put the number at 90. they are now revising it. they are saying that they have been in contact with community leaders as well as activists on the ground family members. they now say 220 asyrian christians are host taij taij -- hostages. some say isil took them to a strong hold in the south. now the community, as you can imagine, is worried about their faith. they don't know if they are alive or dead. isil has still not made any demands, and it's not clear if isil will agree to exchange them in any prisoner swap. but from what we understand is that arab tribal leaders on the ground are trying to immediate some sort of deal to release these people. this is not the first time isil has captured people. they have capt

syrian province. at the same time, fighters are reported to have kidnapped at least 70 christians from a syrian villagesthe area. u.s. secretary of state says russia has lied about it's involvement in the conflict in year ukraine. john kerry was speaking and now turning their attention to mario in the south. and the last minute vote by greece to reform it's economy has been approved by euro zone finance ministers. now, just this month serious president denied using barrel bombs but human rights watch says it has evidence the government has used them to attack rebel held areas. it says manufacture than 6,000 people have been killed by barrel bombs. syria's government is also accused of deliberately bombing hospital, schools and mosques even in areas are there is no fighting. human rights watch is calling toism pose sanctions. it next discusses syria on thursday. al jazeera has been following developments at the united nations for us, james, is human rights watch likely to get it's wish on thursday. >> i this they it would be very hard to do that because of the position of the russians i have just come do

christians. given what happened to the egyptian copticchristians isn't it a surprise that the syrian christians haven'td? >> a lot of them have fled but their only escape is to go into turkey and the turks have restricted a lot of the access to cross the border. so they're in their enclave up there, but they have nowhere to go and isis is slowly surrounding that area. they've already cut the border in most places. >> colonel, thank you. john? >> the french president is calling for the release of a french woman who was kidnapped in yemen. authorities say gunman abducted the 30-year-old and her driver in front of a ministry in front of yemen's capital today. the french president says she works for the world bank. he's urging other french citizens in yemen to leave as soon as possible. >>> another kidnapping involving an american missionary in central nigeria. her captors are demanding hundreds of thousands of dollars for her release. here's arwa damon reporting from chad. >> reporter: american missionary phyllis sorter was based in koge state. she was kidnapped from a school where her office is based and

these syrian christians have occupied this land for centuries.you learning about the fate of these kidnapped christians and why isis targeted them anyway? >> ana, we understand from the syrian human rights network that at around 4:00 this morning local time an isis force approached these two villages in northeastern syria. now, the village was very lightly guarded. they were able to overcome the guards and break into homes, dragging away according to this human rights network, between 70 and 100 people mostly women, children, and the elderly. in addition to that around 700 families fled that area and went to the city where they're currently taking refuge in a church. now, we understand that from another organization the syrian observatory for human rights that before this attack took place, people overheard on radios isis fighters discussing capturing what they called crusaders, which is what isis calls essentially all christians in this case. it's important to keep in mind that recently kurdish fighters in northern syria were able to kobani and

they abducted between 70 to 100 syrian christians. m were women and children and elderly. we want to bring in bobby. we see the syrian christians now held captive. we saw the egyptian christians slaughtered by isis supporters in libya last week. this seems to be a very, very troubling trend. >> it is. the fact that they are a small vulnerable minority makes them a target for isis which has been doing this with minority communities up and down syria and iraq. there have been a syrian christian militias attacking back so some part of this might have to do with revenge. another reason is that little triangle of land that we saw on the map, very crucial. the borders of turkey, iraq and syria. and some of that territory is what isis needs to crossover into iraq into areas that it controls. it's a very crucial piece of land. >> when you look at it, up to 100 people, women, children, elderly included. indiscriminate in what they're doing with them. they're kidnapped. why not from isis perspective just kill them? why are they kidnapping them?

this is where isis kidnapped some 150 syrian christians. 150. a much higher number than previously thought. their fate still not known. >> there is word this morning that isis is planning to release a video message directed at president obama and other coalition partners today. perhaps threatening to kill these hostages. we'll bring in cnn international correspondent nic robertson covering this live from london. good morning, nic. >> reporter: good morning, john. that's a concern right now. we've spoken with a syrian activist who has been in touch with people on the ground. 150 people kidnapped by isis, taken deeper inside isis territory, we're talking about women, children, the elderly, even some priests. thousands of families forced from their homes. 35 different villages affected. up to 600 people, up to 600 of this a syrian christian community hiding out in what they describe as a cathedral. i looked at it online. it's more of a tiny church. hiding out hoping isis doesn't find them. the concern is what happens to this 150? what about all of

. >>> the human rights activist who said isis kidnapped 150 syrian christians is now expecting a message soon about their fate. >>> also syrian activists say an australian fighting with kurdish forces has been killed in a battle against isis. plus jordan is increasing security at shopping malls as well based on what the u.s. is calling credible threats. here's our barbara starr with more. >> reporter: iraq says their defense forces have nearly liberated al baghdadi the town in western iraq that isis has gripped for weeks. it's just a few miles from the air base where hundreds of american troops are on a training mission. for now, a victory for iraqi units. just outside irbil, italian, german and dutch troops training front line peshmerga forces. it's still unclear whether the next big battle will be to retake mosul, iraq's second largest city. amid worry iraqi forces still are not ready. >> if you go in there, it's going to be tough fighting and if you lose, or even if you have a stalemate, it looks like a victory for isis. >> reporter: iraqi forces could first take on isis in western ir

>> we need to know more about the circumstances but the christians and syrians, in both countries in syria and europe tried to distance themselves from the conflict taking place. recent recently they considered we can't stay far from the conflict because the islamic state started bombing our villages. they have to do something about it. they can't ask the kurds to defend them and say we don't want to take part of this. because of the islamic state tactic and strategy is to spread fear among people so they want to send a strong message to the christian minority in this area if you want to join the fight then you will face a very bad fate. we have to wait and see the fate of these 150 people at least and we will judge after that. >> thank you very much for joining us. >>> palestinians the uk say they received information three london schoolgirls made their way into syria to join islamic state extremists. they believe the girls were smuggled across the border from turkey around five days ago. no tonight, it seems clear that these school girls have made it through turkey and into syria.

more territories and recall the challenge, the isis troops going on into iraq and going after syrian christiansin the province long standing home of the syrian christians. they're trying to take more territory and engage in culture and heritage genocide. we have seen what they have done with hostages in the past. with the males there's the potential they could kill them slaughter them put them on video. the women, perhaps marry them off or sell them into sexual slavery and sending back the elderly and those that are infirmed back into the communities. it's really a tragic situation and difficult to predict what will happen at this point. >> pretty awful when you look at the precedent here. there's not been a single moment of humanity in these situations. is anything being done on the ground by anyone? whether by u.s. special forces on any one to try to rescue these 262 christians or is it pretty much no one has no idea where they are. >> i've seen some reports that the syrian kurds are beginning to push and attack isis positions in this part of syria. that may lead to perhaps, more information

syrians there. against christians we've seen in syria. the northeast of syria, isis went in they have captured women, children men, priests, elderly, is what we're being told by syrian human rights group and a syrian human rights group as well. not only are these 150 people been kidnapped, but there are others at risk in the area. 700 families were forced to flee 3 tlourks people forced out of their homes. and we understand 600 of those could be holed up in a cathedral. close to the town where they were forced from their homes. so at the moment isis threatening here potentially their lives. what we've seen when isis has captured christians in the past is to either give them an option, you either convert or you get killed. and during that operation last night, isis radios were overheard, they were talking about capturing crusaders, as if these people had never lived there, for hundreds and hundreds of years, chris. >> all right. thank you very much nic, appreciate that we. >>> we have new information about three teenaged girls accused of ru

translator: i decided to volunteer after seeing security forces trying to protect the christians including syrians minorities. >> reporter: peshmerga fighters are training the young recruits to reclaim their land, using a former u.s. facility to create a force they hope will keep their homes safe even after isil has been pushed out. 10s of thousands of iraqi christians and yazidis fled their homes last summer after they were ordered by isil fighters to renounce their faith and pay taxes or face death. more than 150,000 christians went. these volunteers hope to protect the few remaining towns and villages from falling in to the wrong hands. around 500 recruits, mostly syrians, will be trained this month. many people here, however are divided about having their own militia. >> translator: it's important to train these young men properly. but who are these leaders? what are they teaching them? we don't know what kind of thoughts they are feeding them. it's not right what they are doing. >> reporter: some say this new religious task force is further fueling divisions amongst sectarian and tribal lines

christian prisoners. reports are dozen of syrian christians including women and children were abducted as fighters raided towns in northeast syria. welcome to "happening now." i'm jon scott. >> i'm jenna lee. >> after the terrorists beheaded 21 egyptian christians in libya. as well as their growing reach both concerns this morning on capitol hill where secretary of state john kerry and the director of national intelligence james clapper both testified in separate hearings. john is live in our bureau with the latest for us now john? >> yeah, jenna. secretary of state kerry by the way in that testimony talked about gains that have been made against isis in syria and iraq including kurdish peshmerga forces taking back and recapturing about 30 villages in syria. that said let's talk about the hostages. we're getting reports that an estimated 90 people 90 of the syrian christians as mentioned, were taken by isis. many of them women and children. now all of this happened basically under the cover of darkness before dawn on monday when the isis militants overran several villages along the kabul river in northea

and like yesterday, they captured 70 syrian christians. i.s.i.l. is not just at war with the syrian government. but at war with groups. they have many enemies as well as the u.s.-led coalition. it can only do so much. they are targetting i.s.i.l. from the skies. you need partners on the ground. they don't have that apart from the kurds, battling i.s.i.l. in the north-eastern province. if you talk to people in the opposition, they say the international community should shift the process, and not just concentrate on targetting i.s.i.l. they need to oust the syrian government. if you talk to the syrian government. they say the only way to find a solution is to deal with us. we are the only partners on the ground and can get rid of this terrorist organization. >>> human rights watch says it has proof that syria's government used barrel bombs to attack rebel held areas, and said the bombs killed more than 6,000 people since the u.n. security council passed a resolution last year calling for an end to aerial attacks. houthi rebels have taken control of an

the greatest is a group of syrian christians trained by american volunteers. they trained about 500 men outside of mosul. this is amid news they kidnapped 90 syrian christian this is week in syria. they targeted this region with two dozen air-strikes in the past two days alone. all of that air powner a -- power and a series of victories say isis is on the run. but richard engel said that is not the case. >> isis still controlled raqqa and mosul and isis just broke out into labe raw. it is taking over a new country. so if that is defeat of isis or isis on the road to defeat i would hate to think what isis success would look like. >> let's get to retired army officer douglas olive ant a director for iraq and senior fellow at the new american foundation. doug, it is great to have you. >> afternoon. >> good to have you today. >> pleasure. >> and you're recently back from iraq. >> i am. >> and you say it might not happen immediately but the outcome is increasingly clear. what gives you such confidence? >> the piece is coming together in iraq and the outlook in syria

christians. including the syrians and the minorities. >> peshmerga fighters are training recruits. they are using former u.s. military facility to create a force they hope will keep the home safe after i.s.i.l. has been pushed out. tens of thousands of crist yabs and yazidi -- christians and yazidis fled their homes, after being asked to renounce their fate and pay taxes. 50,000 christians wept. volunteers hope to protect the few remaining towns and villages from falling into the wrong hand. >> 500 recruits, mostly syrians, will be trained. many are divided about having their own militia. >> it's important to train the young men properly. who are they what do they teach them. we don't know the thoughts they are feeding them. it's not right. >> some say the religious task force is fuelling divisions. a move which could see the country's demographing shift. >> in yemen, u.k. and france announced they are closing embassies. the houthi rebel group together growl of the government. u.s. is brokering talks between the houthis and factions. palestinian president met e.u. leaders in brusse

. >>> the isis assault on a syrian christian village in northeast syria is expanding.e been overrun in recent days and the number of hostages has climbed in the hundreds. now outrage around the globe as video captured militants vandalizing a museum in mosul. cnn's correspondent ben wedeman has more for us live in erbil. ben, when you talk about the murder of civilians and rape of women and taking hostages it is shocking. on a human level, it is more horrific than breaking some old rocks in a museum. it shows you how isis is really trying to tear down the pillars of civilization. >> reporter: yes, indeed. this five-minute video posted on the internet yesterday really does underscore the depths to which isis will go. we know as many as 350 syrian christians have been kidnapped by isis and no one has a clear idea of where they might be or what isis plans are with them. this video from the mosul museum basically what you see is men, some with beards some without, toppling statue after statue in this museum. statues that are well over 2,000 years old in many cases. then the

. >>> we're also learning disturbing new details about a group of syrian christians kidnapped by isis. an activist with sources on the ground tells cnn about 150 christians are being held hostage by the terror group. that number is higher than initial estimates. it's believed that isis militants went door to door raiding villages in northeast syria abducting women, children and the elderly. hundreds of a syrian christians have been forced to run for their lives. >>> still to come in the "newsroom," jurors convict eddie ray routh. we'll talk to one of chris kyle's s.e.a.l. team members about the verdict next. ♪ edith piaf "no regrets" plays throughout♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ shopping online is as easy as it gets. wouldn't it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters and even piano tuners were just as simple? thanks to angie's list now it is. start shopping online from a list of top-rated providers. visit angieslist.com today. the traffic jam. scourge of 20th century city life. raiser of blood pressure. disrupter of supply chains. stealer of bedtime stories. polluter.

the militant group is said to have abductive people, many of them syrian christians.he kidnappings took place after i.s. sees the villages. -- ceized the villages. i spoke with frederick at the atlantic council. what do you think is behind this of duction -- abduction? guest: they want to stay in the news and this is a relatively easy and cheap way to do it. the objective here is to stay in the news and continue the outreach to the disaffected of the world and continue to recruit. they are not all that particular about how outrageous any given act is. katty: the prospect of the kidnapped people is slim. guest: probably not very good, sadly. katty: we had john kerry admitting today that, since the bombing started, islamic state is expanding their territory in syria. guest: my strong suspicion is that the new secretary of defense will do a fresh scrubbed on the strategy here. -- scrub on the strategy here. the objective is clear. the strategy, as it stands seems to rest on having a trained program that would recruit rebels. they are the right people to recruit. they are

>> reporter: well, we know that community leaders from the syrian christians, they have been appealingor help asking the international community for help. like you mentioned the islamic state -- islamic state of iraq and the levant captured up to 90 people. isil managed to control three villages in the northeast of the country, and they captured those people and according to the syrian observatory for human rights, they still don't know how many of the 90 people captured are women, children and there were some reports that priests were among those they kidnapped. it's still not clear what isil wants. do they want some sort of an exchange? no demands have been met, but this is not the first time isil really has captured people in areas where literally they don't have any control, and people do not support them. we have seen this in iraq in mosul. they targeted christians as well as sunnis who do not support them. we saw this northwest iraq in this the sinjar mountains when they targeted the minor yazidis community. so the community leaders are really worried about these people. >> all r

is a major victory for those kurdish forces and the people's protection units with help from syrian christianitias. other towns have been major major battlegrounds because also, the names may sound familiar because over the past week, this is where isis militants early monday morning abducted more than 250 at this point, that number could be much higher, syrian christians. we are talking about men, women and children. according to sources, at least one source of mine, and witnesses on the ground those people have been divided up, men taken to a mountainous region the women and children divided among the cluster of towns and villages in the northeast part of syria. at this point, there has been no contact with or communication from all of those people. so their fate remains unknown. really, the concern and the threat at this point is whether isis will release another video threatening their lives or possibly even worse. >> john the radical islamic terrorism continues. it is so sad. thank you so much. arthel? >>> meanwhile, egypt declaring hamas a terrorist organization. an egyptian court sayin

last night a syrian christian church in san jose offered a vigil to raise attention on the isis attacks on their community in syria this week. here is sergio quintana with the details. >> the bishop of this church delivered service in the ancient syrian language. >> they are the very last group of people who speak the language of jesus. >> there are members of the parish who are terrified for family in northern iraq and syria after isis took hundreds of syrian christians hostage this week. >> you talk to some of them, they are in bad shape. we need weapons to protect ourselves. >> some are calling on the u.s. military to intervene, but it's not just the attack on their people, they have also watched an ancient artifacts of their ancestors were destroyed. >> news of the museum in mosul, showing the winged bull the taking a sledgehammer to it. this is an inappropriatelient artifact that's existed thousands and thousands and thousands of years. >> to me, of course, i know this is the holocaust. this is 21st century holocaust. >> they say they should pressure turkey to allow their people sa

up in the next 60 minutes, isil attacks villages in northeastern syria and kidnap dozens of syrian christians leaked cables revealed dealings between the u.s., israel and palestinian authority that they'd never admit to in public. >> greece hands in it's refund plan to lenders. we'll find out if

beirut following the story from there, what is the latest. >> well, like you mentioned 90 of syrian christians have been captured by the islamic state of iraq, that is according to human rights groups what we understand is there was heavy fighting in the province this is in the northeast of syria fighting between kurdish forces and isil isil manages to overrun two villages, villages which were inhabited by christians we know that many of them manages to three but 90 were captured. so there's little anybody where their whereabouts they don't even know how many of the 90 peel were women and children, and they don't know their fate people are worry have had they been killed what does isil doing with them, do they want to use them in a prisoner exchange. during the years isil in both syria and iraq, they have captured hundreds if not thousands of people from different groups. they targeted christians in the iraqi city, they targeted the minority community in northwestern iraq. but they have also targeted sunnies anyone who doesn't approve or agree with their so called state. so a lot of fear now a

with the breaking news out of sye getting several reports that isis has kidnapped and dozens of syrian christians activist groups saying at least 70 people. they were taken by the militants after they took over several villages in the northern part of the country. the human rights group is saying this is what they're being told by villagers that managed to escape. more as we get it. >> angie, thank you. >>> 4:31 our time now. 18 degrees outside our studios. what is that about 20 degrees cooler than yesterday? >> oh my goodness gracious. the weather. i'm trying to think of a way i can peacefully protest the we there's nothing. spring is on the way. >> just keep of nonviolent. >> i'm trying tom. >> i'm getting a lot of angry scowls from my coworkers as temperatures are down to single digits on this tuesday morning. good morning. we're in the deep freeze. rockville down to 9. gaithersburg only 1 above zero now. it's 5 above in lees burg. annapolis by the bay is at 15 degrees. so a frigid morning. dress accordingly with your warmest winter gear. you need the sunglasses. with the snow cover when it hi

. >>> isis militants reportedly captured as many as 100 syrian christians from northeast syria today but in iraq the military says they've liberated the highly contested town from isis control. fox news correspondent has more from jerusalem. >> reporter: isis is reportedly on a new offensive against christians in syria in recent days an abducts 70 christians as hostages. the news brought pleas for help. >> translator: all of the political parties in the community want to issue a straight to strongly con-- statement to kongly condemn these actions -- strongly condemn these actions. >> reporter: ashton carter all but ruling out american, boots on the ground, to fight isis. critics say the obama administration isn't doing enough to counter the isis threat. >> frankly, we're paying the price now facing what we're facing with isis for being disengaged in iraq and syria. >> reporter: but the fight seems to be going better in iraq where the iraqi military has taken back the highly contested town from isis militants. and more help may be coming from oversea es. new zealand officials announci

at least 90 people were abducted from syrian christian villages.he british-based observatory for human rights said it took place after dawn in villages inhabited by the christian minority. this latest defense by i.s. continues to push against the militant group. let's ring you details we have coming into us from your mental set security forces have announced a french woman and her yemeni as boards have been -- escotrt have been kidnapped. french authorities have yet to confirm the abduction, but this comes after most western nations have closed their embassies there and evacuated their staff. there are concerns the security situation -- more on that as we get accurate ukrainian city of mariupol may now be in sites of pro-russian rebels. kiev reports forces are amassing half a million people and continuing to target positions there. the minsk cease-fire is not holding in several places, and the planned pullback of heavy weapons has not materialized, although one rebel leader is now claiming his or says have begun a large-scale retreat of artillery t

last night a syrian c christian church in san jose offered a vigil to raise attention on the isis attacks in syria this week. here are the details. >> the bishop of this church delivered service in the ancient syrian language. >> they are the very last group of people who speak the language of jesus. >> there are members of the parrish who are terrified for family in orgotein rack and syria after isis took hundreds hostage this week the syrian christians. >> you talk to some of them and they are in bad shape. we need weapons to protect ourselves. >> some are calling on the u.s. military to intervene but it's not just the attack on their people, they have also watched an ancient artifacts of their an ses stores were destroyed. >> news in mosul and taking sledgehammers to an ancient artifact that's existed thousands and thousands and thousands of years. >> to me, of course i know this is the hall caught. this is 21st century holocaust. >> they say they should pressure turkey to allow their people safe haven there. abc7 news. >> the department of homeland security is funded for one more week

lost a lot and fighting literally for the survival of the syrian culture and christianity in iraq. >> he is what the status of the fight. how is it going? >> getting ready to deploy but they also need funding. right now it's a privately funded force. what can we do to help? what do you want? make a donation so we can continue training. i would like to start bringing in special forces to be able to train them. green berets especially and expand the program and get these guys trained up and ready to fight. i have been protection units. also need support. they have organizations in the united states that collected fund them. >> your plans are what now you are in irbil what are you going to do next? >> >> greech beret to help me do assessment of training and plan the next steps. after that i will return to the united states and work on fundraising. we are really stalled right now, unable to really continue. i put about $12,000 of my own money in and going broke doing. this we need donations from the public to help christians defend themselves and take the fight against isis. >> christians

more than 100 syrian christians were kidnapped by the militant group on monday. >>> from nbc news astronomersblack hole 12 billion times the size of the sun. scientists sate black hole is so big it challenges the theory about how they grow. nas sa defines a black hole as a region of space that has such an intense gravitational field that no matter can escape it. >>> a group of iowa high school students set the new world record for the longest continuous web cast. they started at 3:00 p.m. tuesday afternoon and continued until 10:00 a.m. thursday morning. the students say they were inspired by al roker's marathon. a shout-out to al there. >>> landon mentioned the controversy in business. the controversy over this dress continues on social media. but even debate right here in our news room we've all been talking about it. take a look at this dress. what colors do you see? white and gold? or black and blue? the debate began on actual where when a user asked about the color and the social media exploded. #thedress was the number one trending topic worldwide. that's huge. >> now the "today" show a

but all of them are a syrian christians. they gathered in beirut to speak in one voice. their message was clear. this minority community in the middle east believes it's future is threatened. >> this is a conspiracy to put the the indigenous people of this region, the assyrians from their homeland. terrorists are taking our lapped. but we'll fight back. we won't surrender. >> there is a heightened sense of concern after hundreds of assyrian christian families were displaced in recent fighting in the northeastern syrian province of hasaka. and more than 200 of them were captured by the islamic state in iraq and the levant. some managed to escape to tell their story. >> there was a massacre. they came to our villages at night. they burned people in their homes. they took our women and children. why isn't the world helping us? >> there is a feeling of helplessness among the christians, but there is also anger and defiance. >> the assyrian christian community says it is time to take up arms, and it is asking the world for weapons. >> do the christians deserve to be protected