Iraq 's largest Christian town has been overrun by the same militant Islamists who have gained a foothold in parts of eastern Syria and western and northern Iraq . The latest advance by ISIS ( or the Islamic State , formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria ) has caused thousands of Christians in the city to flee , just as other minority groups targeted by ISIS have done , as well as Shiite Muslims . The French government confirmed that the Iraqi city of Qaraqosh has fallen into the hands of the militant al Qaeda offshoot . `` France is highly concerned about the latest progress of ISIS in the North of Iraq and by the taking of Qaraqosh , the largest Christian city of Iraq , and the horrible acts of violence that are committed , '' French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in a statement . France called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss the threat in Iraq . The exodus from Qaraqosh was already under way , as the city and its surroundings have been the target of ISIS attacks for weeks . Qaraqosh is a historic Assyrian town of 50,000 people , approximately 20 miles southeast of Mosul , Iraq 's second-largest city , where ISIS also has control . Map : Where is ISIS ? When ISIS took over Mosul , many residents from there had fled to Qaraqosh . In Mosul , ISIS issued an ultimatum to Christians living there : Convert to Islam , pay a fine or face `` death by the sword . '' Three other nearby villages were also attacked overnight and Thursday , local police officials told CNN . Two of the villages -- Bartella and Tall Kayf -- are predominately Christian . Hundreds of Christian families fled to the north , police said . The third village is Hamadaniya . Kurdish forces were involved in heavy clashes protecting the area from ISIS . ISIS seeks to create an Islamic caliphate that stretches from Syria to Iraq . The group has aggressively targeted Iraqi minority religious groups . Nickolay Mladenov , the special representative of the U.N. secretary-general for Iraq , last month condemned the persecution of Christians , Shia Muslims and Yazidis , as well as the Shabak and Turkmen ethnic minorities . The Pentagon is considering conducting emergency air drops to the thousands of stranded Yazidis in northern Iraq , a U.S. Defense official told CNN Thursday . A spokesman for Pope Francis , the Rev . Federico Lombardi , said on Thursday that the pontiff is deeply concerned about the reports coming from northern Iraq . `` Christian communities are particularly affected : a people fleeing from their villages because of the violence that rages in these days , wreaking havoc on the entire region , '' Lombardi said in a statement . Lombardi quoted a prayer the Pope offered last month , expressing to the persecuted that `` I know how much you suffer , I know that you are deprived of everything . '' Most Iraqi Christians are Chaldeans , who are Roman Catholic communicants .
French government confirms that ISIS has taken over Qaraqosh . Qaraqosh is Iraq 's largest Christian city . It is located near Mosul , where ISIS already had control .