Shabak people

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said on Aug. 25 a ruthless campaign of "ethnic and religious cleansing" by Islamic State jihadists in Iraq amounted to a crime against humanity.
      

Jihadists seized Iraq's largest Christian town and surrounding areas Aug. 7, sending tens of thousands of panicked residents fleeing in what is being called a humanitarian disaster, officials and witnesses said.

Islamic State militants extended their gains in northern Iraq on Aug. 7, seizing more towns and strengthening a foothold near the Kurdish region, witnesses said, in an offensive that has alarmed the Baghdad government and regional powers.

The advance came after the Sunni militants inflicted a humiliating defeat on Kurdish forces in a weekend sweep in the north.