Westerners join Iraqi Christian militia to fight Islamic State

Thousands of foreigners have flocked to Iraq and Syria in the past two years, mostly to join Islamic State, but a handful of idealistic Westerners are enlisting as well, citing frustration their governments are not doing more to combat the ultra-radical Islamists or prevent the suffering of innocents. The militia they joined is called Dwekh Nawsha – meaning self-sacrifice in the ancient Aramaic language spoken by Christ and still used by Assyrian Christians, who consider themselves the indigenous people of Iraq.

Everyone dies. One of my favourite verses in the Bible says: be faithful unto death, and I shall give you the crown of life.

Brett, 28, a Western fighter who has joined the Dwekh Nawsha to defend Assyrian Christians from the Islamic State militants

Dwekh Nawsha operates alongside Kurdish peshmerga forces to protect Christian villages on the frontline in Nineveh province. Many Christian towns in northern Iraq around the city of Mosul are now under control of Islamic State, which overran Mosul last summer and issued am ultimatum to Christians: pay a tax, convert to Islam, or die by the sword. Most have fled.

I’m here to make a difference and hopefully put a stop to some atrocities.

Tim, 38, an Englishman who quit his job and headed for Iraq to volunteer in the fight against IS

Middle East Iraq