U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

U.S. Officials: Iran-Allied Shiite Militias in Iraq ‘Extort and Terrorize’ Religious Minorities

WASHINGTON, DC — Some factions of a Baghdad-sanctioned organization of mainly Iranian-backed Shiite militias are engaging in egregious violations such as torture, extrajudicial detentions, rape, extortion, and kidnappings in northern Iraq’s Nineveh province, where persecuted religious minorities like Christians are struggling to recover from the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) atrocities, top U.S. officials said this week.

TOPSHOT - David Dosha, the priest of the Church of Mart Shmony, located in the Christian I