A damaged statue of the Virgin Mary is seen in a church in Qaraqosh, east of Mosul CREDIT: REUTERS
The real genocide in the Middle East, Islamonazis (purveyors of Islam 101) purging the region from its indigenous people, who were there long before the Islamo-horde came pounding on their doors and smashing skulls.
Why Iraq’s Christians aren’t returning to their heartland, five months after Isil’s defeat
The workmen hoisted the 30ft cross high on the grassy mound marking the entrance to Qaraqosh.
Its erection last week was meant to signify the revival of Iraq’s largest Christian town, but few were there to witness it.
Qaraqosh was liberated from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) in October, however only a handful of its former residents have since moved back.
The initial jubilation at Isil’s defeat was short-lived. Families returning to celebrate after more than two years in exile were shocked by what they found.
Almost every house was either burned or looted. Churches had been ransacked and anything the Islamists considered idolatrous desecrated.