U.S. condemns Islamic State attacks on Christian villages in Syria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday condemned recent attacks by Islamic State militants on Assyrian Christian villages in northeastern Syria, which it said included the burning of homes and churches and abduction of women, children and the elderly. "This is but the latest round of atrocities perpetrated by ISIL against the innocent people of the region," the White House said in a statement, using an acronym for Islamic State. Christian Syrian activists said on Tuesday that Islamic State militants had abducted at least 150 people from Assyrian Christian villages in northeastern Syria they had raided. (Reporting by Julia Edwards; Editing by Peter Cooney and Eric Walsh)