Death was just an arm's length away for seven Christian girls who found themselves for hours sharing a room inside a school with heavily armed Islamic State (ISIS) fighters wearing explosive suicide belts.
Despite the grave danger, the girls found a way—with God's miraculous help—to make themselves "invisible" to the eyes of the enemy: They hid under beds.
"The Lord blinded the terrorists," Bishop Youssef Touma of the Archdiocese of Chaldeans said in a statement obtained by CBN News.
"When love and courage meet, God makes a miracle," the bishop added.
The tension-filled real-life drama took place on Friday when ISIS fighters raided a school in Kirkuk, Iraq, CBN News reported.
The school was one of several targets attacked by ISIS fighters as Iraqi security forces were preparing for a major assault on the nearby city of Mosul.
"The terrorists rushed into the surrounding buildings, including the Dominican nunnery and four homes for the [Christian] students [that] had been chartered by the Archdiocese of Chaldeans," Bishop Touma said.
One of the buildings the ISIS fighters occupied was Bishop's Touma's school, which is home to about 500 students.
At the time of the attack, 30 girls were trapped inside.
Fortunately, Iraqi Special Forces were there to rescue the girls. Braving gunfire from ISIS snipers, the Iraqi troops managed to extract all the girls—including the girls who hid under beds.
Bishop Touma hailed Iraq's Special Forces for showing "courage and willingness to sacrifice" in the face of extreme danger.
He also lauded the girls for their display of amazing courage and discipline, which saved their lives.
"The amazing fact is that seven students [were] under the beds for 18 hours without any movement [and] avoided the attention of the four terrorists" inside the room, the bishop said.
The four ISIS terrorists inside the room then went out and reportedly blew themselves up inside the school without injuring any of the students.
"We thank the Lord for his blessings and because He still makes miracles for His children," Bishop Touma said.
