| Qaraqosh Protection Committee | |
|---|---|
| Leaders | Sarkis Aghajan Mamendo Sabah Behnem |
| Headquarters | Qaraqosh,Iraq |
| Active regions | Ninawa Governorate |
| Size | 1,200[1] |
| Part of | Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council[2] |
| Allies |  Iraqi Armed Forces PeshmergaAsayish Nineveh Plain Protection Units |
| Opponents | .svg) Al-Qaeda in Iraq Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |
| Wars | theIraq War and the2014 Northern Iraq offensive |
TheQaraqosh Protection Committee (also known as theNineveh Plains Security Forces) is an armed militia formed byAssyrians living in the city ofBakhdida, inNinawa Governorate ofIraq. The committee, formed in 2004, was organized through local churches, and began manning checkpoints and was soon working with theIraqi police.[3]
Assyrians in post-Saddam Iraq have faced a high rate of persecution byFundamentalistIslamists since the beginning of theIraq War. By early August 2004, this persecution included church bombings, and fundamentalist groups' enforcement of Muslim codes of behavior upon Assyrian Christians, e.g., banning alcohol, forcing women to wearhijab.[4] The violence against the community has led to the exodus of perhaps as much as half of the community. WhileAssyrians only made up 5% of the totalIraqi population before the war, according to theUnited Nations,Assyrians comprise as much as 40% of the growing Iraqi refugees who are stranded inSyria,Jordan,Lebanon, andTurkey.[5]
The coordinator for the Qaraqosh Protection Committee, Sabah Behnem, said outside agendas—from the Sunnis of al-Qaeda to the Shi'a in Iran—were "behind the efforts to displace Iraqi Christians."[3]
On Tuesday, October 12, 2010, the Qaraqosh Protection Committee, in coordination with the KurdishAsayish Forces, captured Ali Muhammad Idris Sadeq, a topAl-Qaeda leader, in the town of Qaraqosh (Bakhdida).[6]
The Qaraqosh Protection Committee reorganized after theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levantoverran theNineveh Plains in 2014. It is now known as theNineveh Plains Security Forces and cooperates closely with theKurdishPeshmerga andAsayish.[7][8]
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