"This is the Islamic State (IS)," was the answer heard by Father Sirjun Zumaya, pastor of the congregation of the Assyrian Mar Girgus church in Lebanon, when he tried to call his wife's uncle Wanis in Tal al-Jazira. The village had been attacked by the "birds of darkness" at 5 in the morning on Feb. 23. Since then, the line has been out of service. Zumaya told An-Nahar the details of the conversation that took place at 1 p.m. on the day of the attack. He said: "When one of the organization's fighters responded on the phone, I answered, 'I hope you're well, I want to speak with the phone's owner.' The fighter said he wasn't there, but I was sure that the number belonged to him, which made me call. I spoke to Wanis in Assyrian, and he responded to me in Arabic in a terrified voice, 'I am very well, and with the Islamic State.' These are the words that he said before the Islamic State fighter took the phone back." Before he hung up, the IS fighter said that the responsibility of preserving security fell on the inhabitants of the village. In the Islamic religion, which they claim to follow, the preservation of security is a duty. But the IS fighter refused to take responsibility for their security, and replied, "This is none of your business." Zumaya's relative is not the only one who is "out of service." The inhabitants of the village, which includes around 35 homes, are all out of service. The inhabitants of some of the 12 neighboring villages located on the west bank of the Khabour River to Jabal Abdulaziz were also hit by the attack. They lie along the line that reaches from Tal Tamr to Tal Hormuz. Around 200 people have been taken hostage. According to Zumaya, "The news coming from there is not reassuring. Yesterday, I heard that one of my relatives was killed, and a young woman was raped. What is happening does not bode well. We fear the worst." The neutrality of the inhabitants of Tal al-Jazira, and their attempts to continue their lives apart from what was occurring around them, did not keep the wild "wolves" from assaulting them and treating them as "prey" to be slaughtered. This is happening in view of the "hunters" of the world -- the coalition planes circle Syria's skies, but the inhabitants of the village below are hostages without freedom. The village that lies between Hasakah and Tal Tamr had enjoyed calm. For that reason, its Assyrian inhabitants did not flee, as most Assyrian inhabitants of other villages had. They slept soundly, but woke to a volcano shaking the area. Terrorists attacked the village from the southern side. Rumors suddenly become a reality of hostages, torture, rape, murder, prisoners and even immolation upon the mention of the names of the inhabitants of their villages. Zumaya was surprised by the attack. "The village in which my wife's family lived in had no strategic value. ... They lived as one family, they worked as farmers, and they enjoyed comfort and calm," Zumaya said. "It did not occur to them at all that they could be the victims of ferocious barbarism [by people] whose hearts lack honor, because of the failure and conspiracy of the disgraceful international community. After the Chaldeans and Yazidis came the Assyrians' turn. The ethnic cleansing in the region continues, from Iraq to the Levant, amidst dubious international silence." The barbarism of IS continues in stages, and its victims increase. Today it's the turn of the countryside of Hasakah in northeastern Syria. Tomorrow, "Whose turn is it? Who can we appeal to? I don't have anyone but Jesus Christ to appeal to," said Zumaya.

Translated by Zachary Cuyler.