(24 Dec 2016) Iraqi Christians gathered for a Mass at a church in downtown Baghdad on Saturday to mark Christmas.
Father Mokhles Shishah said they were praying for the liberation of Iraq and Mosul.
Saturday's prayers came as the battle to retake the northern Iraqi town of Mosul from Islamic State group,now in its third month, continues to rage.
Since 2003, Sunni militants have targeted Christians and their churches, terrorising the community and forcing many of its members to flee to the West, neighbouring nations or the northern Kurdish region.
The Islamic State group's onslaught across northern Iraq in 2014 devastated the unique communities of Christian-majority towns like Karamlis, Bartella and Qaraqosh - all in the Nineveh plains.
Of the estimated 1.5 million Christians who lived in Iraq on the eve of the US-led invasion, about 500,000 are left.

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