Christians in Erbil’s Ainkawa district gathered at the Saint Joseph Church on Friday commemorating the Crucifixion of Jesus on what is referred to by Christians as Good Friday.

The proceeding on Good Friday includes Christians mourning the death of Jesus and his betrayal by Judas, ahead of Easter Sunday.

Ainkawa district houses approximately 7,000 Christian families, making up over 50,000 people.

The district has historically been home to the Christian community and during the ISIS insurgency in 2014, it provided shelter to thousands of Christians from across the country who had fled the brutality of the terror group.