Elsewhere in Iraq, ethnic tensions continue to rise in the town of Mosul. On Wednesday, Iraqi officials cordoned off several Christian neighborhoods where some 3,000 residents have fled their homes due to a wave of killings and kidnappings. Christians from Mosul say they have been the victims of a systematic plan to cleanse them from the area. An unidentified Iraqi woman spoke from Mosul’s Christian Center, where many Iraqi Christians have fled.

Unidentified resident: “We heard about the killings and blowing up of houses, and we received several warnings. We were very uncomfortable. The fear made us all leave our homes. We left them empty and came here.”