BEIRUT (Sputnik) – Rebels from the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group have taken 300 civilians hostage in northwestern Syria, the Lebanese Mayadeen television channel reported Monday.
The terrorists captured the civilians, many of whom are children, in the village of Al-Dana, 38 kilometers (23 miles) to the west of Aleppo, the television station said.
The al-Nusra Front, also known as Jabhat al-Nusra, was established January 2012 and has been fighting against the Syrian government. The group aims to proclaim a caliphate in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian territories.
Civil war erupted in Syria in 2011 after a series of anti-government protests, which later spiraled into an armed conflict with government forces fighting a number of rebel groups, including the Islamic State, al-Nusra Front.
Over 220,000 people have been killed in Syria since the military confrontation started, according to recent UN estimates.
