Pope to visit desecrated 'Jerusalem of Nineveh plains' in Iraq
Tolerated by former President Saddam Hussein but persecuted by al Qaeda and then Islamic State, Iraq's Christians number around 300,000, one fifth of the total before 2003.
A burned church of the Immaculate Conception by Islamic State militants is seen in the town of Qaraqosh, south of Mosul, Iraq.(photo credit: REUTERS)ByREUTERS
