An Iraqi city held by Islamic State (IS) for years is celebrating Christmas for the first time since 2013.
Bartella, once home to thousands of Assyrian Christians, became a ghost town in 2014 when it was captured by IS.
The city has recently been retaken by Iraqi forces and several hundred Christians have returned to celebrate Christmas at Mar Shimoni Church, which was partially destroyed by IS.
"This is the best day of my life. Sometimes I thought it would never come," Shurook Tawfiq, a 32-year-old housewife displaced to the nearby Kurdish city of Erbil, told Reuters.
A new cross has been added to the chapel, while a decorated plastic Christmas tree stands outside.
"It is a mix of sadness and happiness," Bishop Mussa Shemani told Reuters before celebrating the Christmas Eve mass.
"We are sad to see what has been done to our holiest places by our own countrymen, but at the same time we are happy to celebrate the first mass after two years."
The city's Christian population fled after they were given an ultimatum - pay a tax, convert to Islam or die by the sword.
Most fled to a nearby Kurdish region.
Newshub.
