An Assyrian Christian militia has claimed it has liberated a village in Iraq from ISIS with help of the U.S. coalition.

The Nineveh Plain Protection Units (NPU) claimed on Saturday that ISIS militants had been driven out of Badaneh, a "traditionally Christian vilage" south of Mosul on September 1.

The images and videos that NPU posted online show the Christian fighters entering Badana, which appears to be abandoned despite the ISIS flags seen in some areas.

Manjib was a strategic city that served as a transit for foreign jihadists and its liberation by Syrian and Kurdish forces came as a blow to the terror group. The local Iraqi Shiite militia also celebrated the liberation of the village referring to the Christian fighters as their "partners" on Twitter. Since ISIS took control of the area, they have used torture methods on the people there.

Back in February 2015, the Catholic Herald ran a feature story on NPU and said the militia has more than 3,000 members either in service or set for training.

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For the Assyrians, this fight to liberate Mosul is a personal one: Daesh not only occupies their ancestral lands, but the aforementioned terrorist group has attempted to destroy much of their history.

"The Nineveh Plain Protection Units (NPU), which is tasked with that mandate, is officially recognised and supported by the Iraqi government".

According to reports, the NPU and NPF remain rivals who often accuse each other of hidden agendas and fleeing from battles.

But though Assyrian Christians are among a number of religious minorities who have suffered immensely under Islamic State, there has been some disagreement within the Assyrian community as to whether so-called "Christian militias" should exist at all.