The total number of Kurdish Christians is probably in the tens of thousands. There are large numbers in the Syrian Catholic, Orthodox, Assyrian, Armenian Catholic, and Chaldean Catholic churches. Thousands of Christian families have fled violence and threats in other parts of Iraq and found refuge in the Kurdistan Region. Since the ISIS campaign Kurdish forces (Peshmerga) have been the most effective at battling them. (Iraq’s security forces discarded their weapons, uniforms and command posts then fled ISIS advances). The Peshmerga helped regain control of key cities and have put up a strong fight. The Kurds are outgunned by ISIS militants, who possess heavy artillery and armoured vehicles amassed by purchasing weapons with extortion-racket money, seizing from Iraqi forces fleeing their posts, and collected during years of fighting in Syria. The CIA is now shipping weapons directly to the Peshmerga fighters. Australia, France and Britain are providing aid but not military action.