5
2
Earlier this week, ISIS began an assault on the historically Assyrian Christian city of Qaraqosh in the northern Nineveh province, just east of Mosul. Kurdish peshmerga forces moved into the city to fortify it against a barrage of mortar shells. The city, though not officially located in the Kurdistan Regional Government, has become one of the disputed areas, as the Iraqi government has abandoned it and ISIS is vying for control. Dozens of mortar rounds landed on the outskirts of the city Wednesday night, causing tens of thousands of residents to flee towards Erbil. Assyrian Christians from Mosul had previously fled the ISIS takeover and were seeking sanctuary in Qaraqosh and in the nearby Christian city of Bartella.