News   /   Iraq

ISIL militants blow up 10 Christian houses in northern Iraq

This photo posted by ISIL on the Internet on March 19, 2015, shows the moment the Takfiri militants blow up the Mar Behnam monastery in the Christian dominated town of Qaraqosh, Iraq.

Members of the ISIL Takfiri militant group have blown up 10 houses belonging to Christian residents in Iraq’s beleaguered northern province of Nineveh, as they continue to wreak havoc in the areas under their control.  

A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that on Tuesday ISIL extremists stole property from the houses in the town of Qada' Talkif, located 24 kilometers (15 miles) northeast of the militant-held strategic city of Mosul, before demolishing them, Iraq’s al-Sumaria satellite TV network reported. 

The development comes as ISIL has recently destroyed the 10th Century Chaldean Catholic monastery of St. George north of Mosul. 

This file photo shows St. George monastery near Mosul, Iraq.
 

The monastery, founded by the Assyrian Church of the East, had been converted into a seminary by the Chaldean Catholic Church in 1846. 

Earlier this month, ISIL Takfiris blew up parts of the ancient monastery of Mar Behnam near the predominantly Christian town of Qaraqosh, located about 32 kilometers (19 miles) southeast of Mosul.

On February 19, elements of the ISIL terrorist group detonated the Virgin Mary Church north of Mosul, using improvised explosive devices. 

This file photo shows the damaged Virgin Mary Church, north of Mosul, Iraq.
 

ISIL militants also kidnapped at least 220 Assyrian civilians in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah in late February. 

The Assyrians were abducted from 11 villages near Tel Tamer – a town located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) to the northwest of the provincial capital, Hasakah. The hostages have been taken to Abd al-Aziz mount, which lies southwest of Tel Tamer. 

Over the past months, Assyrians, who come from one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, have been under increasing threat from the ISIL terrorists.  

The ISIL militants, with members from several Western countries, control some parts of Syria and Iraq, and have been carrying out horrific acts of violence such as public decapitations and crucifixions against all ethnic and religious communities.  

MP/MHB/AS


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku