According to Rudaw, an Iraqi news agency, on February 2, security sources from the Ninevah police district said that the Islamic State blew up the Church of the Immaculate Virgin—one of the largest and oldest Chaldean churches in the ancient section of Mosul.

The security source said: “The organization finished wiring the church with explosives this morning and detonated it, leaving widespread destruction in the church and neighboring buildings.”

Prior to this, the old church — which stood on the foundation of what was the most ancient Christian church in Mosul – had withstood previous attacks by Islamic militants, including a 2008 car bomb attack.

Through a public proclamation, on February 2, the Islamic State announced that it had executed yet another Christian priest in Mosul — Paul Jacob, the parson of a church in eastern Iraqi city who was kidnapped eight months ago. His parish was also blown up. The execution reportedly took place in Ghazlani Camp in southern Mosul where a militia camp is located.

Update 1: Although various Arabicmediareported this story, the Chaldean Patriarchate "strongly denies recent news stories that report a priest being executed by Islamic State militants in Mosul."

Update 2: Despite Update 1, several Arabic social media continue not only to report this story as true, but to scold Western media and churchmen for not reporting on it. Most of these reports also post the following picture. Note that the man being beheaded does look similar to the blindfolded man being led away in the picture above, which earlier reports said was Paul Jacob when IS first abducted him eight months earlier.

After "fierce clashes" with Islamic State terrorists, fighters from the Syrian military council recaptured the town of Tel Hormuz. Several IS members were killed and six taken captive.

The cross that IS had removed from off the local church's dome was also reestablished back onto the church.

The following hard-hitting letter was written by Mohamed Tawfik, Egyptian Ambassador to the United States, and submitted to the editor of the Washington Post. It reiterates many of the points I have made over the years — including the MSM's pro-Brotherhood bias, its whitewashing of Boko Haram's anti-Christian jihad in Nigeria, and even its rationalizations for the Islamic State's atrocities. For those still unsure of the MSM's games, this letter is a good start.

To the Editor, The Post’s January 30 editorial entitled “A bleak anniversary in Egypt” is biased and insensitive, to say the least. Published barely hours after the terrorist attack that needlessly took the lives of over 30 of my countrymen, the editorial board fails to show even the slightest compassion for the plight of the victims’ families. The only mention of the attack was by way of laying the blame for the terrorists’ acts squarely on the Egyptian government. By this skewed logic, who should we say bears the blame for the Oklahoma or Boston bombings? The Post’s coverage of the latest Paris attacks, by contrast, was extensive and balanced and yet the much wider carnage that Boko Haram committed in Nigeria received minimal coverage. Isn’t it legitimate for Egyptians and other Third World peoples to ask if The Post puts the same value on the lives of all human beings? Indeed, they have every right to wonder whether The Post and other like-minded Institutions consider us to be legitimate testing grounds for their geopolitical theories and social experiments. Indeed, The Post has been consistent in toeing the Moslem Brotherhood line. Going beyond editorials and opinion pieces, bias has tainted every aspect of coverage. In August 2013, when Brotherhood supporters launched a coordinated campaign of attacks against police stations and Christian churches, The Post’s coverage brazenly suggested that the police were behind these attacks. The outlet also consistently promotes the polished English of Moslem Brotherhood propagandists, while muting attention to that organization’s Arabic messages, which drive extreme Islamist rhetoric and call for bloodshed, martyrdom and terror. Most recently, the official website of Egypt’s Moslem Brotherhood called in Arabic for its supporters to prepare for “relentless jihad where we ask for martyrdom” in Egypt.

The Post has gone out of its way to absolve the Moslem Brotherhood of their crimes. This is evidenced by its claim in the aforementioned editorial that “more than 20 protesters were killed by police.” The editorial conveniently neglected to mention that at least three of the dead were Moslem Brotherhood supporters who were killed when the bombs they were planting prematurely exploded, and that two were policemen killed by their ‘peaceful protestors.’ The investigation will show the number of Moslem Brotherhood supporters who lost their lives in these incidents and how many of the dead were their victims, or unfortunate bystanders who got caught in the crossfire. This latest editorial’s greatest service to Moslem Brotherhood propaganda, however, came when it equated peaceful protestor Shaimaa al-Sabbagh with those terrorist bomb makers. Together with millions of Egyptians, I have mourned Shaimaa’s death. President Al Sisi has clearly stated that he thinks of her as his own daughter. A thorough independent investigation is underway to bring the perpetrators to justice. But to use this innocent woman’s death to whitewash the Moslem Brotherhood’s violence is inexcusable. The Post has not been alone in propagating the illusion that the Moslem Brotherhood is “peaceful,” has “renounced violence,” and represents “moderate Islam,” rather than recognize the historically uncontested fact that it is the mother organization from which modern day violent jihad has sprung and that its main theorist, Sayyid Kutb, remains to this day a source of inspiration for terrorists around the world. History shows how a small number of Western academics and lobbyists succeeded in repackaging the Moslem Brotherhood and selling it to their elites as the panacea for curing radicalism, rather than the Trojan horse it really is. President Al Sisi is leading the way—calling for a revolution in Islamic thought to deny extremists the opportunity to exploit it to their sinister ends. Leading by example, he became the first Egyptian leader to visit the Orthodox Cathedral in Abasseya to wish his Christian compatriots a merry Christmas. A conference organized by Al-Azhar late last year emphasized that confronting violent extremist ideology can only succeed if we draw on the rich heritage of tolerance that our peoples have practiced for centuries, rather than invent excuses for the Moslem Brotherhood. The persistently flawed lens with which The Post misrepresents the words and actions of President Al Sisi is misguided and threatens the very goal of stamping out radicalism in the region. I neither expect nor wish for The Post’s coverage of Egypt to be biased to our perspective. But I sincerely hope you will find the courage to revise your positions, not as a favor to Egypt, which will remain a great and confident nation no matter what you say, but to provide a more honest service to your readers and save whatever is left of your credibility in the Arab world. Sincerely, Mohamed Tawfik, Egyptian Ambassador to the United States

Ten elderly and disabled Christians — eight men, two women — who "managed to escape" from the Islamic State, after refusing to convert to Islam, recently gave a glimpse of life under IS.

Previously, the group had been living in Mosul for nearly three months before IS militants forced them out of a nursing home in Qaraqosh on Oct. 24, and stole the Christians' money, jewellery and IDs.

The group explained how they were also pressured to say the shehada and become Muslim.

Rahel, one of the women from the group, said "We did not want to become Muslim; we just wanted to leave."

Another elderly man said:

When we were in Qaraqosh, IS used to beat us every day with their weapons or hands. They gave us little food. But when we were taken to Mosul, we were held in a hall with other people and there was another hall beside us too and we could hear more people there. They were rounded up and detained as well.... One day, a member from IS came and called some of our names and said "Stand up, we will call you soon!" We thought that they will kill us, but later they took us and we asked them "When are you going to let us leave?" An IS member replied – "Not without ransom."

Approximately 40 Christians continue to be held against their will. The church is trying to negotiate their release and has even already paid IS money for their release: "among them is a 3-year-old girl that IS has demanded thousands of dollars to release."