Air strikes kill at least 17 Isis militants in Iraq after 220 Christians go missing in Syria

Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is rumoured to be at the hospital

US air strikes have been aiding Kurdish YPG fighters (Getty Images)

A coalition air strike in Iraq has killed at least 17 militants from the so-called Islamic State and nine civilians overnight, a hospital source said.

Military alliance between Syrian Kurds and the US has resulted in 132 Isis fighters being killed in the Hasaka province since 21 February after around 220 Christians have been captured in Syria.

The hospital source in the Iraqi town al-Qaim said 29 militants were wounded in the strike targeting Islamic State positions in al-Rumana and Husaiba areas. Some were taken across the border to Syria for treatment.

Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was also at the hospital according to “anonymous sources” reported by Arabic channel al-Arabiya al-Hadath, but the information could not be confirmed.

The kidnapped Assyrian villagers from along the Khabur River include women and children, according to Rami Abdurrahman at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights based in the UK. Yesterday, the number of people missing stood at 90.

Isis had raided 33 Assyrian villages in total, Younan Talia, a senior official with the Assyrian Democratic Organization said.

The UN Security Council on Wednesday evening “strongly condemned” the abductions and demanded the immediate release of people kidnapped by Isis and similar groups.

Recently, 21 Coptic Christians were beheaded by Isis in Libya and the group released footage of their brutal killings.