Pope denounces 'intolerable brutality' in Iraq, Syria

 Pope Francis on Sunday denounced the "intolerable brutality" being inflicted on Christians and other minorities in Iraq and Syria by Islamic State group militants, AFP reports.

"Unfortunately the tragic news just keeps coming from Iraq and Syria," the pontiff said after his weekly prayer in St Peter's Square, without specifically naming IS.

"We want to assure all those who find themselves in these situations that we have not forgotten them," he said. "Rather we are with them and we are praying intently for the rapid end of the intolerable brutality of which they are victims."

Last week, IS kidnapped 220 Assyrians in the Tal Tamr area of Syria where the extremist Islamist group has seized control of 10 Christian villages, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

A video released Thursday by the jihadists shows men smashing ancient Assyrian statues and other priceless artefacts at the main museum and an archaeological site in the northern city of Mosul.

The pope also called on Venezuelans to