Priests have celebrated Mass in the town of Bashiqa for the first time in two years after Iraqi forces liberated it from ISIS.
The Mass was held on Wednesday at the Mart Shoomy Assyrian church, which remains severely damaged after being ransacked by militants during the ISIS campaign. Photographs show the priests flanked by Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
Bashiqa was retaken as part of the offensive to capture Mosul, situated 13km from the town.
"We are so happy at the liberation," said Fr Elkhoury Alfaran Elkhoury.
