Bombs target Iraqi Christians
Source: Agencies |
August 3, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A car bomb outside a Christian church wounded 23 people yesterday morning, police said, as security forces found and disarmed vehicles packed with explosives outside two other churches in northern Iraq.
The incidents in the northern city of Kirkuk are a continuation of violence against Iraqi Christians, nearly a million of whom have fled since the war began in 2003.
"The terrorists want to make us flee Iraq, but they will fail," said Rev Haithem Akram at one of the churches targeted. "We are staying in our country. Iraqi Christians are easy targets because they do not have militias to protect them. The terrorists want to terrorize us, but they will fail."
The assault began at 6am, when a car blew up outside the Syrian Catholic church, severely damaging the building and nearby houses, according to Colonel Taha Salaheddin of the police.
Parish priest Imad Yalda, was the only person inside at the time and was wounded. The other 22 injured were nearby residents, according to police chief Major General Jamal Tahir.
Following this blast, police discovered two more car bombs outside an Anglican church and the Mar Gourgis church.
The ethnically and religiously mixed city of Kirkuk is 290 kilometers north of Baghdad. Islamic Sunni extremists often target Christians.
Violence against Christians stepped up late last year, climaxing in the October siege of a Catholic cathedral in Baghdad that left 68 dead and scores wounded.
The incidents in the northern city of Kirkuk are a continuation of violence against Iraqi Christians, nearly a million of whom have fled since the war began in 2003.
"The terrorists want to make us flee Iraq, but they will fail," said Rev Haithem Akram at one of the churches targeted. "We are staying in our country. Iraqi Christians are easy targets because they do not have militias to protect them. The terrorists want to terrorize us, but they will fail."
The assault began at 6am, when a car blew up outside the Syrian Catholic church, severely damaging the building and nearby houses, according to Colonel Taha Salaheddin of the police.
Parish priest Imad Yalda, was the only person inside at the time and was wounded. The other 22 injured were nearby residents, according to police chief Major General Jamal Tahir.
Following this blast, police discovered two more car bombs outside an Anglican church and the Mar Gourgis church.
The ethnically and religiously mixed city of Kirkuk is 290 kilometers north of Baghdad. Islamic Sunni extremists often target Christians.
Violence against Christians stepped up late last year, climaxing in the October siege of a Catholic cathedral in Baghdad that left 68 dead and scores wounded.
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