As the influence of ISIS begins to fade in Mosul and the surrounding areas, friend of Faithwire and American missionary David Eubank shares more is sharing on the ground updates as the operation to clear ISIS continues in Northern Iraq.
READ: If God Called Your Entire Family to Mosul, Would You Go? This One Did…
According to Eubank, another town by the name of Tel Kyf just made the liberation list after being held under ISIS control for months.
Tel Kaif is in the center of Nineveh province, an area largely populated by Christians and Yazidis. Iraqi news agency Rudaw reports that over the past 90 days of increased fighting, 66-70 percent of the area has been liberated after being under extremist control for two years.
READ: Major Advances are Being Made Against ISIS in Mosul
However, it is clear that the lasting imprints of ISIS can be found everywhere, in the form of wounded soldiers to enslaved Yazidi children.
army liberate Tel kaysumah village west of Mosul @FreeBurmaRangrs pic.twitter.com/CGGHC9FHwB
— David Eubank (@DaveEubankFBR) February 19, 2017
Eubank reports that Tel Kyf is now free from ISIS control in a message that recounts the first moments when the national Iraqi forces seized the land.
Saying, “the operation started before 9 am, and by the end of the day the city was free from ISIS control.”
But the town is now a shell of its former self.
The once bustling community with roughly 3000 families has dwindled down to only about 700.
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And the presence of Christian families has been said to be “very few.”
READ: “We Will Always Be Faithful” – Christian Syrian Refugees Refuse to be Intimidated by ISIS
On the area’s first day of freedom, January 20th, it became marked with “an uncertain future,” Eubank said, adding that, it was also one that allowed it to have a fresh start.
“…children (are) eager to say hi, to say thank-you, to take pictures and to show us around, including leading us to caches of mortars left by ISIS.”
Before “people…were unable or unwilling to flee from ISIS when they came remained in the town for the last two years. Life was not easy.”
Overall, Eubank said, the “absence of oppression” is freeing people who have been stuck in their homes for years.
However the community isn’t completely in the clear.
“Military tanks and humvees (remain) on many avenues and intersections.”
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