“What we are living and what we have seen over the last two days is horrible and catastrophic … churches fell into the hands of the rebels this morning … we are now surrounded and threatened with death … pray for us.” The “convert to Islam or die” fatwas that were issued before elsewhere in Iraq and Syria will most assuredly be issued soon in Mosul as well, for peaceful purposes. Heavenly Father, give them strength to endure till the end …

Acts 14:22, “… continue in the faith … we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”

Mark 13:13, “… you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

By BosNewsLife – “Thousands of Christians and other residents began fleeing Mosul on Tuesday, May 10, after Islamic militants overran much of Iraq’s second largest city, ‘killing hundreds’ while seizing churches and government buildings.

As many as 150,000 people were trying to escape Mosul amid appeals for prayers and warning that this may be the last exodus of what was a Christian stronghold. ‘What we are living and what we have seen over the last two days is horrible and catastrophic,’ Najeeb Michaeel, a Dominican priest, wrote from Mosul.

He confirmed that gunmen of the ‘Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’ (ISIL), who are inspired by terror group al-Qaida, took over churches after pushing out security forces and capturing military vehicles.

‘The priory of Mar Behnam [Monastery] and other churches fell into the hands of the rebels this morning … and now they have come here and entered Qaraqosh five minutes ago, and we are now surrounded and threatened with death … pray for us,’ he added in comments monitored by BosNewsLife.

‘Many thousands of armed men from the Islamic Groups of Da’ash [ISIL] have attacked the city of Mosul for the last two days. They have assassinated adults and children. The bodies have been left in the streets and in the houses by the hundreds, without pity,’ he said.

‘The regular forces and the army have also fled the city, along with the governor.’ The exact death toll was not immediately clear amid confusion and chaos.

‘Christian families are terrified. I was able to make my wife and children leave Mosul, but now I am stuck in the house and can’t move,’ a Christian man reportedly said, as fighting continued.

Militants reportedly took 70 female students hostage at the University of Mosul, and took 28 Turkish truck drivers hostage in the city. About 3,000 prisoners were reported to have been freed from the main jails.

Militants also seized Mosul’s airport, television stations and the governor’s office, reporters said.

With attacks ongoing, Pastor Haitham Jazrawi suggested that the city of 1.8 million people will soon have no or very few Christians.” Read more.

Flashback: Iraq: Muslims Stop Christians From Selling Homes, Kill Real Estate Agents For Doing Business With Them – “According to a report published by the Iraq Press, hundreds of Assyrians in Mosul have been forced to leave the city by fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as Daash. The Assyrians have been prevented by Daash from selling their homes. Daash has killed real estate agents who do business with Christians. Unidentified gunmen assassinated the owner of the Zouhour Real Estates agency after he brokered the sale of a Christian house.” Read more.

Flashback: Muslim Cleric In Iraq Issues New Fatwa To All Iraqi Christians: Choose Islam Or Be Killed – “An Advent of light and shadow for Iraq’s Christians, who are celebrating the reopening of the cathedral of Baghdad but at the same time subjected to new – and heavy – threats from a radical Shiite Muslim leader. From studies of a television broadcaster based in Egypt, an Iraqi Ayatollah launches a fatwa against the religious minority on the eve of Christmas: ‘Conversion to Islam or death.’… Labeling them as ‘polytheists’ and ‘friends of the Zionists’, the extremist leader stressed that they must choose ‘or Islam or death,’ while ‘their women and girls may legitimately be regarded wives of Muslims.’” Read more.