Church bells ring out in the Iraqi town of Bartella for the first time in years.

As Iraqi forces continue their offensive against the ISIS-held city of Mosul, reports and images of the re-capturing of a string of villages and towns outside the city have hit the international media.

Video aired on France 24 shows a group of Christian militia fighters from Bartella, a town 13 miles east of Mosul, returning home after having been driven out by ISIS two years ago. Their first actions on entering their village? Erecting a cross, ringing the church bells for the first time since ISIS took over, and kneeling in prayer inside their desecrated church.

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