UNB, Dhaka
As reports of the killing of Syrian Christians by Islamic State militants in the Syrian town of al-Qaryatain are emerging, the head of the Syrian Orthodox Church has claimed that some 21 Christians were murdered when almost 300 Christians remained in the city after IS captured it last August.
They included three women, Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II told the BBC. The town was retaken by Russian-backed Syrian forces and their allies earlier in the week.
He said some died whilst trying to escape while the others were killed for breaking the terms of their “dhimmi contracts”, which require them to submit to the rule of Islam.
Five more Christians are still missing, believed dead.