Daesh militants have abducted some 900 Kurds in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo over the past three weeks amid fierce fighting for control of a nearby Daesh-controlled stronghold, ABC News quoted a Kurdish official and Syrian activists as saying Friday.

The abductions began shortly after the predominantly Kurdish and U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces began an offensive on May 31 to capture the Daesh stronghold of Manbij from the extremists.

The extremist group has a history of mass kidnappings in areas they control in Syria and Iraq and have mostly targeted Christians and Kurds in the past.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the 900 civilians were detained near the Daesh-held town of Al-Bab.

Source: MENA