Assyrians represent one of the most consistently targeted communities in the Middle East.

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An estimated 3.5 million people globally comprise a distinct, indigenous ethnic group. Tracing their heritage to ancient Assyria, Assyrians speak an ancient language referred to as Assyrian, Syriac, Aramaic, or Neo- Aramaic. 

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The contiguous territory that forms the traditional Assyrian homeland contains southern and southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syria. The Assyrian population in Iraq, estimated to be approximately 300,000, constitutes the largest remaining concentration of the ethnic group in the Middle East. 

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Assyrians are predominantly Christian. Some ethnic Assyrians self-identify as Chaldeans or Syriacs, depending on church denomination. Assyrians have founded five Eastern Churches at different points during their long history: Ancient Church of the East, Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Catholic Church, and the Syriac Orthodox Church. The majority of Assyrians who remain in Iraq today adhere to the Chaldean and Syriac churches.