Islamic State open market to sell goods stolen from Christians in Mosul

Islamic State militants in Mosul have opened a special market for selling goods looted from Christian houses in the city, according to the Ankawa news service.

The market is also selling material taken from churches in the area.

Islamic State has given the market the title "Spoils of Nasara (Christians)".

Among the goods for sale are TVs, refrigerators, freezers, cooling systems and electrical devices stolen from Christian homes. Ankawa's source said that the material was attractive to local people as it was of good quality and cheap.

Church from the Syriac, Catholics, Armenians and Chaldean communities have been looted and their contents put up for sale.

Mosul's Christians were forced out when Islamic State captured it last June amid scenes of great brutality. It has since been attacked by Kurdish Peshmerga forces who have fired rockets into the city in an attempt to hit a gathering of militants. US airstrikes regularly hit targets outside the city itself.

The United States and Iraq have started preparing for an offensive by summer to recapture Mosul. Preparations include selecting and training military units for the planned assault and cutting supply lines to Islamic State fighters.

At a conference on Saturday in Baghdad, the Patriarch of the Chaldean Church, Mar Raphael I Louis Sako, called for the "culture" of Islamic State to be combatted, saying: "Condemnation alone is not enough. Let us start the treatment by drying up the [financial] sources of extremism and terrorism, by blocking this terrifying culture and its theoreticians and promoters, and by creating a new, open, and positive culture that respects diversity and difference."

The conference, which focused on inter-faith harmony, included contributions from Iraq's president, Fouad Massoum, and prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, who attended the event with other high-profile parliamentarians and religious leaders.

related articles
ISIS executed 13 teenagers by firing squad for watching football game - reports
ISIS executed 13 teenagers by firing squad for watching football game - reports

ISIS executed 13 teenagers by firing squad for watching football game - reports

US and Iraq plan summer offensive to retake Mosul from Islamic State
US and Iraq plan summer offensive to retake Mosul from Islamic State

US and Iraq plan summer offensive to retake Mosul from Islamic State

Iraqi Catholics would really like the Pope to visit

Iraqi Catholics would really like the Pope to visit

Iraq: Kurdish forces fire rockets into Islamic State-held Mosul
Iraq: Kurdish forces fire rockets into Islamic State-held Mosul

Iraq: Kurdish forces fire rockets into Islamic State-held Mosul

Iraq: Priest is working to save historic Christian manuscripts from the Islamic State
Iraq: Priest is working to save historic Christian manuscripts from the Islamic State

Iraq: Priest is working to save historic Christian manuscripts from the Islamic State

News
Over £900,000 awarded to help UK churches stay open amid growing funding pressures
Over £900,000 awarded to help UK churches stay open amid growing funding pressures

Hundreds of churches across the UK are receiving vital financial support to remain open and safe, as rising repair costs and shrinking funding streams place historic buildings under increasing strain.

How to make the most of the quiet period between Christmas and New Year
How to make the most of the quiet period between Christmas and New Year

Make the most of these last days of the year to slow down, reflect, and reconnect with God.

US carries out strikes on Islamic State in Nigeria over violence against Christians
US carries out strikes on Islamic State in Nigeria over violence against Christians

The US military has conducted airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Nigeria over the violent "targeting" of Christians. 

Gay Archbishop of Wales says some people have left Church over her appointment
Gay Archbishop of Wales says some people have left Church over her appointment

The first openly gay Archbishop of Wales says her appointment has caused some people to leave the Church in Wales.