Thread by @AFP

#BREAKING Pope arrives in Mosul, Iraqi city left in ruins by IS

#UPDATES Pope Francis lands in Mosul, now lying in ruins after three-year reign of the Islamic State group
Amid extremely tight security, the pope will hold a prayer service for the "victims of war" outside a church ravaged by IS

Pope Francis says the exodus of Christians from Iraq and the broader Middle East "does incalculable harm not just to the individuals and communities concerned, but also to the society they leave behind"

Pope Francis prays for "victims of war" outside a centuries-old church in Iraq's Mosul, where the Islamic State group ravaged one of the world's oldest Christian communities until the jihadists' defeat three years ago u.afp.com/UGbk

#BREAKING Pope meets Christians in church torched by IS in northern Iraq's Qaraqosh

VIDEO: 🇮🇶 Pope Francis is greeted by Christians in the ancient Al-Tahera (Immaculate Conception) Church torched by the Islamic State group in 2014 in the northern Iraqi town of #Qaraqosh #PopeInIraq

#UPDATE Seven years ago, Munir Jibrail was forced to flee his northern Iraqi town of #Qaraqosh when black-clad jihadists swept in. Today he's back home, welcoming a man dressed all in white u.afp.com/UGE8 #PopeInIraq

#UPDATE Pope Francis prayed on Sunday for "victims of war" in northern Iraq, where the Islamic State group ravaged one of the world's oldest Christian communities until the jihadists' defeat three years ago u.afp.com/UGEX #PopeInIraq #Mosul

#BREAKING Pope celebrates largest mass of Iraq trip in Kurdistan regional capital Arbil

#UPDATE Pope Francis held the largest mass of his historic trip to Iraq on Sunday after visiting war-scarred cities to comfort Christian survivors of the Islamic State group's reign of terror u.afp.com/UGEX #PopeinIraq #Arbil

#BREAKING 'Iraq will always remain with me,' Pope Francis tells thousands in Kurdish regional capital Arbil