( CNN ) Assyrians in northeastern Syria villages awoke Tuesday to ISIS militants at their doors , with the Islamist extremists abducting scores from the Christian group and forcing hundreds more to run for their lives , an advocate said . The ISIS fighters burst past a few men guarding the village of Tal Shamiram at about 4 a.m. ( 9 p.m . ET Monday ) and abducted children , women and the elderly , said Usama Edward , founder of the Assyrian Human Rights Network . Talking to CNN from Stockholm , Sweden , Edward said that between 70 and 100 people were kidnapped in that village and others in the same cluster near Tal Tamer . The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that ISIS had abducted 90 Assyrians . `` Reliable sources '' told the London-based monitoring organization that they 'd overheard ISIS militants talking on wireless devices about having detained `` 56 crusaders '' in Tal Shamiram alone . In the village of Ghibsh , ISIS executed two citizens for `` dealing with the Kurds , '' the Syrian Observatory reported . Syrian Kurdish fighters -- who are part of the People 's Protection Units , or YPGs , and affiliated with Kurdish fighters out of Iraq -- are among those battling the Islamist extremist group . About 700 Assyrian families managed to escape the onslaught , with 600 taking up refuge in St. Mary 's Cathedral in al-Hasakah , Syria , Edward said . The Assyrians lack food , water , blankets and other necessities after years of being in the middle of a civil war . `` They are facing a possible massacre by the ( Syrian ) regime and by ISIS , '' Edward said . `` Everyone is fighting everyone else . They are surrounded . '' ISIS has attacked numerous minority groups during a bloody campaign to create a vast caliphate across Syria and Iraq under its extreme version of Sharia law . That includes Assyrians in Qaraqosh , a historic town of 50,000 people in northern Iraq about 20 miles southeast of Mosul that was overrun this summer . Many Mosul residents had fled to Qaraqosh after the Islamist extremists took over that city , Iraq 's second-largest . At the time , ISIS issued an ultimatum to Christians living there : Convert to Islam , pay a fine or face `` death by sword . '' The latest reported abduction occurred about 160 miles ( 255 kilometers ) east of Qaraqosh . Edward , from the Assyrian Human Rights Network , said members of his group and other Syrian Christians have been `` left all alone '' by Syria 's government and the world . Kurdish fighters may launch an operation to rescue those abducted , `` but it very dangerous ( and ) everyone could get killed . '' `` This is like a miracle that they have survived this long , '' he said of his fellow Assyrians . `` How can these people stay alive ? They are trying to defend their homes . '' ISIS is n't the only threat to Assyrians , given all the violence around them in the places they call home . Nearly four years in , Syria 's civil war is still raging -- with a U.N. official in January reporting some 220,000 people killed and 7.6 million displaced . There are atrocities in that war that are n't being blamed on ISIS , including a Human Rights Watch report out Tuesday blaming Syria 's government for `` hundreds of new discriminate attacks '' in the past year , including the use of barrel bombs . Iraq is n't exactly a picture of stability , either . The militant group is n't thought to have penetrated Baghdad . That city has seen more than its fair share of attacks in recent months -- the latest being bombings , just a few minutes apart , that killed 21 women , children and men on Tuesday , according to officials . Still , it 's ISIS that has gotten the most traction internationally for its success and tactics . The militant group has ruthlessly gone after groups that do n't give into its subscribe to ISIS ' take on Islam . Some of those affected are Christians , but many others are Muslims who do n't accept its radical ideology . By last year , ISIS had taken over swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria and later inspired terror attacks in Paris and the Danish capital of Copenhagen . But it 's received pushback recently , with a strong showing from Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and the retooling of Iraq 's once maligned military . There also have been hundreds of U.S.-led airstrikes in Iraq and Syria targeting ISIS , which the U.S. government also refers to as ISIL . `` This is a difficult mission and it will remain difficult for some time , '' President Barack Obama said this month . `` ( But ) our coalition is on the offensive , ISIL is on the defensive , and ISIL is going to lose . '' The threat is anything but over . In some places , the group is holding and even gaining ground . The biggest test , for all sides , will likely come over Mosul . Up to 25,000 Iraqi troops could begin their push to retake that northern Iraqi city as soon as April , a U.S. official has said . A U.S. Defense Department official said Washington is supplying the Iraqis with 10,000 M16 rifles , 10,000 M68 close combat optical scopes , some 23,000 ammunition magazines and `` thousands '' of additional helmets and Kevlar vests in preparation for the Mosul assault . This shipment is in addition to 250 mine-resistant vehicles sent over in January , and some 1,800 Hellfire missiles shipped over in 2014 and this year . CNN 's Raja Razek , Barbara Starr , Mohammed Tawfeeq and Jason Hanna contributed to this report .
Violence continues in region , including bombings that kill 21 in Baghdad . Score: 6 Women , children and elderly are among the scores abducted . Official : U.S. sending thousands of rifles , scopes , magazines , helmets to Iraqis .