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Mosul: In Mosul, adjacent to the Biblical city of Nineveh, four churches representing different denominations occupy a small square surrounded by low-rise houses, testament to the role Iraq’s once flourishing Christian community played. Today, all four churches are either damaged or destroyed after Daesh militants occupied the city from 2014-2017, desecrated many of the buildings and used them to run its administration, including as a jail and a court. Air strikes as Iraqi forces tried to dislodge the extremist group in fierce fighting did the rest. Those walls still standing are scarred with bullet and shrapnel holes. “It used to be a bit like the Jerusalem of the Nineveh plains,” said Mosul and Akra’s Chaldean Archbishop Najeeb Michaeel of “Church Square”, the name given to the site that Pope Francis will visit on March 7 during his historic trip to Iraq.

Israel generalUnited arab emiratesGreater accraHosh al bieaaNajeeb michaeelSaddam husseinAl qaidaVirgin maryAli salemAnas zeyadAl taheraPope francisHosh al bieaa churchChurch squareIraq februaryImage credit