Islamic State Attacks Christian Homes in Nineveh as Iraqi Forces Plan Offensive

The Islamic State attacked a group of homes belonging to Christian families in the Ninevah province of Iraq this week, reportedly burning them to the ground in their latest persecution of the Christian minority in the Middle Eastern country. 

An anonymous security source told the Iraqi television station al-Sumaria that the attack happened this past Tuesday, when militants allegedly blew up ten homes belonging to Christian families in the town of Qada' Talkif.

This most recent attack comes after the terrorist group reportedly posted a propaganda video in February showing militants destroying artifacts and historic antiquities belonging to the Mosul Museum and the Nergal Gate Museum, both located in the Ninevah province region.

The Islamic State has vowed to destroy the Christian minority in Iraq since it waged a caliphate in the region last year. In response to the Islamic State's control of Iraqi cities, Iraqi military forces have expressed their intent to block off the Islamic State in the west and the north so it may stop the terrorist group's continued spread in the region.

Iraq's Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi told The New York Times that the military forces' strategy will be to secure the areas of Anbar and Nineveh to prevent Islamic State militants from ambushing security forces in those regions.

"We will secure Anbar first, and then move on to Nineveh," the country's defense minister recently told the media outlet.

Al-Obeidi added to reporters that the Islamic State has reportedly been preparing trenches and the like in the city of Mosul with the intent to "destroy the city to defend it."