Christians are fleeing the Iraqi city of Mosul after the Islamic terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria issued a “convert or die” order in the city.

The edict says that by Saturday all Christians in the city must convert to Islam, pay a large fine or be killed according to a statement read in mosques throughout the city.

“Christian families are on their way to Dohuk and Irbil,” Patriarch Louis Sako told AFP news agency.  “For the first time in the history of Iraq, Mosul is now empty of Christians.”

Islamists have been going through the city marking the homes of Christians for easy identification.

Mosul reportedly contained around 35,000 Christians when the Islamic terrorist group launched their campaign to take over Iraq.  Churches throughout the city have been ransacked and their possessions taken or burned.

The Islamists have also destroyed Christian or Jewish shrines or artifacts within the city, including the tomb of the Prophet Jonah.