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| ISIS militants were captured on video taking sledgehammers to Christian
and Muslim tombstones earlier this month. They were filmed attacking
centuries-old graves in the city of Mosul in Ninevah province |
Christians in the northwestern fled in terror after jihadist-led militants enforcing an extreme version of sharia - or Islamic law For Christians to Convert or Face death
Escape: Human Rights Watch said the Islamic State 'seems intent on wiping out all traces of minority groups from areas it now controls in Iraq.' Above, Shia Turkments carry their possessions to Arbil yesterday.
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| Donning balaclavas and black coats, the militants swung sledgehammers into the old tombstones |
Most Christians in the northwestern Nineveh province fled in terror after jihadist-led militants enforcing an extreme version of sharia - or Islamic law - launched an offensive on June 9.
But many of the poorest families returned when the fighting stopped and ISIS started administering the city.
Mr Sako said the number of Christians who were still in Mosul on Thursday was around 25,000.
Today, Human Rights Watch said the Islamic State 'seems intent on wiping out all traces of minority groups from areas it now controls in Iraq.'
Other minorities rooted in the same province of Nineveh have suffered even more than the Christians, according to crimes HRW documented against the Yazidis, as well as the Turkmen and Shabak Shiite communities.
The mass displacement was the latest in six weeks of turmoil which has forced more than 600,000 people from their homes, left thousands dead and brought Iraq to the brink of collapse.
Mr Talabani's return to his native Kurdistan today was likely to spark celebrations among supporters from his Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party.
He is widely celebrated as a skilled negotiator, who enjoys good relations with both the United States and Iran and has repeatedly mediated between Iraq's fractious politicians in recent years.
But some observers warned there was little the avuncular 80-year-old head of state could do to ease spiralling ethno-sectarian violence and rhetoric and roll back the Islamic State's expansion.
'I really do think this is a post-Talabani era. I've stuck my neck out there, but I haven't heard any Iraqis talking about him in any way being president,' said Toby Dodge, director of the London School of Economics' Middle East centre.
Federal forces collapsed, in some cases abandoning uniforms and weapons in their retreat, when fighters under the command of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi launched their assault.
The army has since regrouped, received intelligence, hardware and manpower from Washington, Moscow and Shiite militias, but nonetheless struggled to regain lost territory.
But many of the poorest families returned when the fighting stopped and ISIS started administering the city.
Mr Sako said the number of Christians who were still in Mosul on Thursday was around 25,000.
Today, Human Rights Watch said the Islamic State 'seems intent on wiping out all traces of minority groups from areas it now controls in Iraq.'
Other minorities rooted in the same province of Nineveh have suffered even more than the Christians, according to crimes HRW documented against the Yazidis, as well as the Turkmen and Shabak Shiite communities.
The mass displacement was the latest in six weeks of turmoil which has forced more than 600,000 people from their homes, left thousands dead and brought Iraq to the brink of collapse.
Mr Talabani's return to his native Kurdistan today was likely to spark celebrations among supporters from his Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party.
He is widely celebrated as a skilled negotiator, who enjoys good relations with both the United States and Iran and has repeatedly mediated between Iraq's fractious politicians in recent years.
But some observers warned there was little the avuncular 80-year-old head of state could do to ease spiralling ethno-sectarian violence and rhetoric and roll back the Islamic State's expansion.
'I really do think this is a post-Talabani era. I've stuck my neck out there, but I haven't heard any Iraqis talking about him in any way being president,' said Toby Dodge, director of the London School of Economics' Middle East centre.
Federal forces collapsed, in some cases abandoning uniforms and weapons in their retreat, when fighters under the command of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi launched their assault.
The army has since regrouped, received intelligence, hardware and manpower from Washington, Moscow and Shiite militias, but nonetheless struggled to regain lost territory.
