The Assyrian Christians, many of whom speak a variant of Aramaic, once constituted a significant minority in Iraq but their numbers have dwindled in recent years as many have emigrated to escape longstanding discrimination. When the ISIS militants spread across northern Iraq in the summer of 2014, Assyrian Christians were brutally targeted and thousands of members of the community were displaced from their homes, fleeing to Kurdish-controlled areas.

Colonel Jawat Habib Abboush, Deputy Commander, and Nineveh Plain Protection Units (NPU) said, his group poses no threat to anybody but ISIS. The militia had formed to protect the community in the wake of ISIS onslaught and the collapse of the Iraqi army. The NPU has received training from American private military trainers and Col. Abboush his men were currently being trained by US military personnel, and are hoping for American direct military support to fight the ISIS terror group.

Colonel Abboush declared, "Yes, we did hear about that (refeering to the US calling for direct assistance to local security forces) and it made us happy because it will give equality to all the ethnic groups here. This is our country, we had a civilization here for a thousand years and we are still citizens of this country. We cannot be marginalized. We have to bring back our history in cooperation with the Peshmerga, the central government and the Iraqi Army. Because we are one nation, we have the same destiny, and when Daesh (ISIS) came here, they don't ask for IDs, AP reported.

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