Deacon Momica, who himself is displaced from Bakhdida (Qaraqosh), a city now in the hands of Islamic State, said that two of the injured soldiers are from the same city, and are friends of his.
The three wounded soldiers are Fouad Masoud, 48; Rafid Kahak, 27; and Wahab Ena, 18, who is also from Bakhdida.
His father is believed to still be in the city, though Islamic State militants seized it in August 2014. Ena has had no word from his father since, and doesn't know whether or not he is alive, as Islamic State has not allowed anyone to leave since seizing the city.
Deacon Momica recounted how in a phone conversation, Kahak told him that they were already inside Telskuf when Islamic State began their early-morning assault.
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After being injured, he "began praying that God give the strength and power to get out...He didn't want to stay in this place because if ISIS entered and caught him they would kill him," the deacon said, explaining that Kahak carries a cross with him at all times, and had begun praying to God for help, when a plane arrived and carried them to safety.
Deacon Momica told CNA that he spoke with the soldiers after their surgery late Tuesday night "and they are good now. I even spoke with them five minutes ago, and they tell me they are good."
However, while this battle has been won, the war is far from over, and Christians, especially in Alqosh, remain uneasy about what the future holds.
Since Alqosh is the only remaining Christian village on the Nineveh Plain, Fr. Baho said that if it falls, "that's it" – Christianity in Iraq is finished.
Elise Harris was senior Rome correspondent for CNA from 2012 to 2018.