Iraqi Christian students miraculously escape from ISIS attack in Kirkuk

Several Iraqi Christian students narrowly escaped death when ISIS launched a surprise attack on the Iraqi city of Kirkuk. The students, who hid under the bed as the militants rummaged through their house, ascribed their survival to a miracle.

On Friday, ISIS decided to raid the city of Kirkuk, which is 90 miles from Mosul, after it began losing territory due to the operation launched by the Iraqi-led coalition last week.

Monaly Najeeb and six other female students woke up to the sound of machine gun fire around 4 a.m. She immediately gathered the other students to find a safe place to hide, The Daily Beast reported.

"We went to a corridor where there were no windows and we sat there until the morning, but we didn't feel entirely safe because we were right near the door," said Najeeb.

She said that they eventually hid in a room under the stairs where they felt safer. While they were hiding under the beds, they heard the militants entering the house and going through the kitchen.

The militants eventually entered the room where they were hiding and one of the militants sat on the bed directly above Najeeb. She said she could not explain why they were not seen.

"It was a miracle they didn't see us," said Najeeb. She does not remember much but she recalled hearing one of the men telling the others to leave the house.

"When we heard him say this, we finally had some hope," she added. Najeeb and the other students made their way out of the house through the back door. "I felt like I was born again when the soldier picked me up," she said.

After they escaped, an ISIS fighter who hid in a bathroom detonated a bomb. Najmaldin Karim, the governor of Kirkuk, said that the militants intended to take the Assyrian girls hostage.

The attack on Kirkuk resulted in the deaths of 99 civilians and members of the security forces. Iraqi security officials stated that a total of 63 ISIS fighters were killed.