News reports indicate that five explosions occurred in Baghdad and Mosul today. From the Washington Post:
The total number of casualties remained uncertain; initial reports ranged from 3 to 12 persons killed and more than 50 injured but officials said they expected the toll to rise significantly. While hundreds have died over the past 15 months in bombings directed at the U.S. led coalition, Iraqi supporters and people working for the interim government of Iraq, this appeared to be the first seemingly coordinated assault on Iraq's minority Christian population and its institutions. . . .
The attacks on churches came over the course of about two hours. The relative order of the attacks remained unclear as did the names of all the churches.
An Interior Ministry spokesman quoted by the Associated Press said a total of four churches were hit in Baghdad: two in the busy Karada district where many Christians live and worship, one in the Dora neighborhood and one in New Baghdad.
An Armenian Christian church and an Assyrian Christian Church in Karada were among the targets, authorities said. Reuters reported that the deadliest attack, at a Chaldean church in southern Baghdad, killed at least 12 people as worshipers left the building, according to witnesses.
In Mosul, a Christian church was hit by a car bomb attack, killing at least one civilian and wounding 15, the Reuters news agency said. . . .
There are about 800,000 Christians in Iraq, most of them in Baghdad. There have been a string of attacks in recent weeks on alcohol sellers throughout Iraq, the majority of whom are Christians of either the Assyrian, Chaldean or Armenian denominations.
FOX News reports the reaction of some of the Iraqi Christians:
"What are the Muslims doing? Does this mean that they want us out?" Brother Louis, a deacon at Our Lady of Salvation, asked as he cried outside the damaged Assyrian Catholic church. "Those people who commit these awful criminal acts have nothing to do with God. They will go to hell." . . .
"We were in Mass and suddenly we heard a big boom, and I couldn't feel my body anymore. I didn't feel anything," said Marwan Saqiq, who was covered in blood after the attack on Our Lady of Salvation in Baghdad's heavily Christian Karada neighborhood. "I saw people taking me out with the wood and glass shattered everywhere." . . .
"I saw injured women and children and men, the church's glass shattered everywhere," said Juliette Agob, who was inside the Armenian church during the first explosion.
Firefighters and residents struggled with water hoses to put out the flames consuming cars and the front of the church. Four unexploded artillery shells were visible inside the exploded car.
The back wall of the Catholic church bore the brunt of that bomb. Bricks were scattered about, revealing the graves from a cemetery behind the building. The bomb left a hole 8 feet wide in the ground.
Relatives raced to the area to search for loved ones.
One, Roni George, sat down and wept after failing to find his parents and brothers, who were at Mass.
In other news of Christian persecution, the Barnabus Fund reports an Iraqi Christian Killed For Selling Food To Americans
The Christian owner of Al-Hanna restaurant in Mosul's Al-Dawasa district was murdered by the Islamic Wahhabbeen group on Monday 19th July because he had American customers. A local report states that the militants accused the shopkeeper: "You are a Christian. Why do you sell food to the Americans? Are you an agent for the Americans?"
After killing Hani Matti Betti, the owner of the restaurant, the militants cut both hands off his business partner, a Muslim, and also blinded him in both eyes. They stated that this was to be understood as a sign to anyone working with the Americans.
International Christian Concern reports in their 28 July item that Assyrian Christians are being calculatedly shut out of the election process. ICC reports in a 29 July item that many Iraqi Christians are fleeing the country in the wake of growing persecution at the hands of the radical Islamist who accuse them of working with the Americans.
The Assyrian Christians website is also reporting the killing of two Iraqi children, killed because they were Chrisitans. (Warning: Graphic pictures accompany the report!)
Two Assyrian Christian children have been killed in Baghdad. Raneed Raad 16 and her sister Raphid 6 were slaughtered in their home.
The family who are well known Assyrian Christians had been threatened. While the family was out terrorists entered and shot the two Children at point blank range.
`We are doing our best to get out to the world the simple message that the Assyrian Christians who are the indigenous people of Iraq are being intimidated, threatened and killed simply because they are Christians. The world must not stand by and watch. The last time this happened during the Assyrian Genocide nearly 2/3rds of our population were killed` says Amir George from Baghdad.Posted by Clifton at August 1, 2004 05:41 PM | TrackBack