The attack by the al-Nusra Front terrorists took place on Wednesday in the mountain village of Maaloula, located northeast of the capital, Damascus.

The al-Nusra Front militants seized a hotel during the assault on the village, where Aramaic-speaking people reside, also shelling one of its communities.

Following the attack, about 80 villagers took shelter in a local convent.

The village is still under the Syrian army’s control, which is trying to repel the attack, according to a government official.

The assault comes as the talk of war against Syria is growing.

The rhetoric of war against the Arab country first gained momentum on August 21, when the militants operating inside Syria and the foreign-backed Syrian opposition claimed that over a thousand people had been killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds in several suburbs of Damascus.

The Syrian government has vehemently rejected the accusation and said the militants had conducted the attack to draw in foreign military intervention.

Nevertheless, a number of Western countries, including the United States, France, and Britain, quickly started campaigning for war.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

NTJ/NJF