Christians flee Iraqi town as militants take over

Thousands of Christians are reported to be fleeing after Islamic
militants seized the minority's biggest town in Iraq.

The Islamic State group captured Qaraqosh in the north overnight after
the withdrawal of Kurdish forces.

An international Christian organisation said at least a quarter of
Iraq's Christians were leaving Qaraqosh and other surrounding towns.

IS has seized large parts of Iraq and Syria to create an Islamic caliphate.

Kurdish forces, known as the Peshmerga, have been fighting the Sunni
militants in the north for weeks.

The French organisation Fraternite en Irak said on its Facebook page
(in French) that a majority of inhabitants of Nineveh province had
fled as the militants took over Qaraqosh.

The town, home to some 50,000 Christians, is located 30km (19 miles)
southeast of the city of Mosul, which was captured by IS in June.

According to Fraternite en Irak, the commander of the Peshmerga in
Qaraqosh told the town's archbishop late on Wednesday that the forces
were abandoning their posts.

The Kurdish fighters also retreated from other surrounding Christian
towns, including Tel Eskof and Qaramless.

Several archbishops in Nineveh have now confirmed that the towns had fallen.

Iraq is home to one of the world's most ancient Christian communities,
but numbers have dwindled amid growing sectarian violence since the
US-led invasion in 2003.