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IRAQ: Terrorists strike Christians in Baghdad again
By John Pontifex
Carrying the Cross in Iraq: Christians process the Stations of the Cross
At least three people are dead and 26 have been injured in attacks on Christians in Baghdad last night (Tuesday) and this morning (Wednesday).
The co-ordinated attacks targeting Christians began yesterday evening in the Iraqi capital’s Mansour district where three Christian homes were bombed. Three people were injured.
The violence continued at 7am today with mortar bombs in Dora, the once largely Christian neighbourhood in southern Baghdad, as well as Baladiyat and a market largely run by Christians in the Kamp Sara area.
Details of the atrocities were released by the Iraqi government’s interior ministry. Names and other details of the three who died are not yet available.
The Islamic State of Iraq, a group associated with Al Qaeda, has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need, Iraq’s Archbishop Bashar Warda said: “Al Qaeda said churches and Christians would be a target. This is proof that they are serious and that they mean what they say.”
Other reports from Baghdad state that one of today’s attacks targeted the family of a victim of the attacks 10 days ago on Our Lady of Salvation Cathedral, Baghdad, in which more than 50 people were killed.
According to Iraqi Christian news service Ankawa, the terrorists identified the family by funeral signs still hanging outside their home.
This video contains scenes that some viewers may find disturbing
Chaldean Archbishop Warda of Erbil, northern Iraq, described being phoned up by family and friends of victims of the atrocities.
He said: “The people are suffering so much fear. There is anger and distress and they don’t know where to turn.”
He went on: “I have only one message and that is please pray for us. This is a really difficult time for us. It is just a mess.”
The archbishop said: “Pressure needs to be put on the government to provide adequate protection for Christians.
“What we are faced with here is not just a failure of security but a deliberate targeting of Christians.”
Archbishop Warda said the attacks would prompt a further exodus of Christians from Baghdad.
He said that until 2003 there were up to 40,000 Christian families living in the city but now there were barely 50 families.
The archbishop said that until the 31st October attacks at Our Lady of Salvation Cathedral, Christians had been beginning to return to Baghdad, especially to the Dora district whose large number of Catholic churches and religious houses earned it the nickname ‘The Vatican of Iraq’.
Attacks against Christians in Baghdad peaked in 2004 and again in 2006 but after 2008 calm seemed to return.