Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants have abducted hundreds of civilians, including dozens of Christians, from a central Syrian town it captured earlier this week, activists say, a development that has prompted hundreds of Christian families to flee to areas outside the control of the ultra-radical group.

Syria-based activists who monitor the group’s activity in the country said on Friday ISIS kidnapped more than 220 residents from Qaryatain after overrunning the town that is located in the central province of Homs earlier this week.

Initial information indicates ISIS took the abductees to the historic city of Palmyra which it captured from Syrian government forces in May, activists say.

At least 60 Christians are among the kidnapped, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights–which monitors the conflict in Syria through a network of activists—has said.

ISIS accuses the 220 civilians of “collaborating with the [Syrian] regime but the primary goal of the abduction is to use them as a bargaining chip,” an activist who goes by the nom du guerre Abu Muhammad told Asharq Al-Awsat.

There are around 30 Christian families living in Raqqa city, ISIS’s main stronghold in Syria, Abu Muhammad said. “But they pay the jizya [a tax levied on non-Muslims] in exchange for permission to stay,” he said.

Male and female members of the Christian families in Raqqa are forced to adhere to a strict dress code which ISIS deems in line with Islam.

Meanwhile, the Christian Assyrian Network for Human Rights in Syria warned on Friday ISIS might be preparing to launch a large-scale attack on the town of Sadad, 15 miles (25 kilometers) from Qaryatain. Sadad is home to around 5,000 Christian families.

Dozens of Christian families reportedly began to flee Sadad toward the government-held city of Homs and the capital, Damascus, on Friday.

Several Christian religious figures have appealed to the international community to stop the “potential aggression” by ISIS against their town.