Members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant kidnapped father Paolo Dall'Oglio on Monday while he was walking in the city, which had fallen under the control of militant extremist brigades, the sources in Raqqa province told Reuters.

Syrian authorities expelled Dall'Oglio from the country last year after he helped militants from a monastery in the Anti-Lebanon mountains north of Damascus.

The unrest in Syria started in March 2011, when pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following intervention of western and regional states.

Many Syrians who sided with the opposition at start of the protests have now turned to side with the government and the army to defend their country against foreign-backed extremists.

BA/BA