Five militants including IS leader killed in airstrike

The Nineveh Plain Protection Units (NPU) announced last Thursday that it had recaptured Badanah, a village southeast of Mosul, with the help of a USA coalition. The NPU revealed that this was the first operation supported by the global coalition, which provided weapons and supported the liberation of the village through airstrikes.

The offensive was aided by coalition air strikes and the Peshmerga – the Iraqi- Kurdistan military force.

The Nineveh Plains was captured by ISIS in 2014 and caused 125,000 Christians to flee their homes.

-Joining the Iraqi Army in their fight to liberate the historical city of Mosul, the Nineveh Protection Units have proven to be a formidable force against Daesh terrorists.

NPU leader Bahnam Abush told the Iraqi media: “The operation is a step towards restoration of their confidence and hopes for Christians to stay in the land of their grandparents”.

Back in February 2015, the Catholic Herald ran a feature story on NPU and said the militia has more than 3,000 members either in service or set for training.

President Barack Obama withdrew USA troops from Iraq but they returned in 2014 after the Iraqi army fled Islamic State’s advance through a third of the country despite billions ofdollars in US aid and training.

The NPU is just one Christian group among three.

In March, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged for the first time that genocide being committed by Islamic State, which is also known as IS, ISIS, ISIL or Daesh, against Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East. The militia is made up of predominantly Christian fighters. The publication also said the Christian militia is backed by the Iraqi government and the Kurdish Peshmerga.