BAGHDAD , Iraq ( CNN ) -- Two attacks on Christian families in the city of Kirkuk on Sunday evening left three people dead and two others wounded , police said . Due to persecution , Christians in Iraq have had to rely on Iraqi security forces , as shown here on Easter Sunday . The first occurred in a neighborhood in southern Kirkuk when a Christian woman and her daughter-in-law were murdered in their home late night Sunday . Police told CNN the attackers slit the women 's throats . In a neighborhood close by , gunmen attacked a Christian family in their home , shooting a father and his three sons , police said . One of the sons died instantly and the other son and the father were wounded . Many of Iraq 's estimated 1 million Christians have fled the country after targeted attacks by extremists . In October , more than a thousand Iraqi families fled the northern city of Mosul after they were reportedly frightened by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists , who apparently ordered them to convert to Islam or face possible death . At least 14 Christians were killed in Mosul in the first two weeks of October . Kirkuk is 150 miles ( 240 km ) north of Baghdad .
Christian woman and her daughter-in-law 's throats slit in their home late Sunday . In nearby neighborhood in Kirkuk , gunmen shoot father and three sons ; one dies . Score: 6