Drone Strike Obliterates Christian Chapel in Iraq Where Families Fled ISIS

Drone Strike Destroys Chapel at Christian Refugee Housing Complex in Erbil, Iraq

A drone attack struck the Blessed Michael McGivney apartment complex in Ankawa, a Christian suburb of Erbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region, on the evening of March 4, 2026. The blast completely destroyed the chapel inside the complex and damaged a nearby convent belonging to the Chaldean Daughters of Mary Immaculate.

No casualties were reported. The complex had been largely evacuated days earlier due to its proximity to Erbil International Airport amid escalating tensions in the region.

The McGivney complex was built and funded entirely by the Knights of Columbus to house Christian families displaced by Islamic State violence between 2014 and 2018. It also served as housing for workers of the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil.

Archbishop Bashar M. Warda of Erbil confirmed the destruction in a statement.

We thank God for the safety of everyone. The chapel of this housing complex has been damaged completely.

The archbishop described the psychological toll the attack has taken on a community already scarred by years of persecution.

Right from the beginning when the war started and there were these kinds of missiles and rockets, the whole fears and wounds of the past came back again.

Patrick Kelly, Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight, also responded to the attack.

We rejoice that no lives were lost, and we will continue to stand with the families who called McGivney House their home.

The Ankawa district, located approximately 60 to 90 miles west of the Iranian border, is home to one of Iraq's largest remaining Christian populations. Security personnel and civil defense teams assessed the damage promptly following the strike.

Archbishop Warda called on Christians worldwide for solidarity.

We are now in a time once again where we pray for the solidarity and support from our brothers and sisters around the world, that these times of violence and war will come to an end.

Iraqi Christian Chapel Destroyed as Drone Strike Hits Knights of Columbus Refugee Complex in Ankawa

The attack has reopened deep wounds for Iraqi Christians who have endured decades of violence, displacement, and persecution. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iraq's Christian population has plummeted from over 1.5 million to an estimated 150,000 to 250,000 today.

The Crusader's Opinion

A chapel. A place of worship for Christian families who already lost everything to ISIS. And now a drone reduces it to rubble while the world barely blinks. These are the same families who fled the Islamic State's reign of terror, who watched their churches burned and their neighbors murdered for refusing to convert. The Knights of Columbus built them a home, gave them a chapel, gave them hope. And now that hope has a hole blown through it. Where is the international outrage? Where are the UN resolutions? If a mosque had been struck, every major news outlet would run it for a week. But a Christian chapel in Iraq? Silence. We must never stop naming this evil for what it is.

Take Action

• Donate to The Shepherd's Shield to support persecuted Christians in Iraq and across the Middle East.
• Support the Knights of Columbus Christian Refugee Relief Fund, which built the McGivney complex and continues to aid displaced Christian families.
• Give to Open Doors USA, which ranks Iraq among the most dangerous countries for Christians.
• Contact the Iraqi Embassy in Washington at (202) 742 1600 and urge the Iraqi government to protect Christian communities and religious sites.
• Share Archbishop Warda's words with your church community and organize a prayer vigil for persecuted Christians in Iraq and across the Middle East.