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Over 600 Christian families have returned to northern Iraq to rebuild their homes, says Archbishop of Mosul.

Iraqi Christians take part in a procession to erect a new cross over the Mar Korkeis church, after the original cross was destroyed by Islamic State militants, in the town of Bashiqa, Iraq, November 19, 2016. | Reuters/Azad Lashkari

More than 600 Christian families who were displaced by the Islamic State terror group in northern Iraq have now returned to the region in the hopes of rebuilding their homes from scratch, according to the Archbishop of Mosul.

Syriac Catholic Archbishop Petros Mouche told Christian charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that the liberation of the western part of the Nineveh Plains and Mosul from ISIS is "a sign of hope for us Christians."

"Some have found work or started restaurants, shops and trade businesses. It takes a lot of courage to start from scratch again," the bishop said, according to The Tablet.

"For us Syriac Catholic Christians in Iraq, liberation is of course a cause for great joy because the vast majority of my diocese was staying in the environs of Mosul and in Qaraqosh," he added.

Syriac Catholics comprise 60 percent of 150,000 Christians and others who fled to Erbil from Mosul and the Nineveh Plains due to the violence caused by ISIS.

Nearly 13,000 homes across nine predominantly Christian villages in Nineveh have been damaged and destroyed, according to a survey by ACN.

Despite the destruction, the Iraqi archbishop said that there is a "great hope that life will begin all over again."

Earlier this month, ACN pledged £400,000 (US$520,000) to help the people that have been displaced from the Nineveh Plains.

Mouche also stressed the need to change the mindset of people who are attracted to Islamic extremism.

"We have to be able to live together. We are all sick of war. Wars have been fought in Iraq off and on since 1958. We have to learn how to live in peace," the archbishop said.

Meanwhile, the Knights of Columbus (KoC) has announced that it will raise and donate $2 million to rebuild Karamdes, a predominantly Christian town on the Nineveh Plain that was liberated from ISIS late last year.

The Knights will be working with the Archdiocese of Erbil, which is currently housing the largest population of Christian refugees in Iraq, in the resettlement and rebuilding project.

KoC Vice President Andrew Walther said that groups, churches and even individuals can help resettle a family for the amount of $2,000. The amount can be used to sort out burn damages, rebuild a house, clean up and make the place habitable.

Walther has estimated that, with the donations, hundreds of refugee families will be back in Karamdes by the end of the month.