Dozens dead in Iraqi church attack
Source: Agencies |
November 2, 2010, Tuesday
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IRAQI security forces stormed a Baghdad church where militants had taken an entire congregation hostage for four hours, leaving at least 52 people dead, including a priest, Iraqi officials said yesterday.
It was not immediately clear whether the hostages died at the hands of the attackers or during the rescue late on Sunday night in an affluent neighborhood of the capital.
The incident began when militants wearing suicide vests and armed with -grenades attacked the Iraqi stock exchange at dusk on Sunday before turning their attention to the nearby Our Lady of Deliverance church - one of the city's main Catholic places of worship - -taking about 120 Christians hostage.
Major General Hussein Ali Kamal, the deputy interior minister, said 52 people were killed and 67 wounded in the bloodbath. Officials said at least one priest and 10 policemen were among the dead.
A Christian member of parliament yesterday described the Iraqi rescue operation as "not professional," saying "it was a hasty action that prompted the terrorists to kill the worshippers."
"We have no clear picture yet whether the worshippers were killed by the security forces' bullets or by terrorists, but what we know is that most of them were killed when the security forces started to storm the church," Younadem Kana said.
Video footage from an American drone that was overhead during the attack showed a black plume of smoke followed by flashes from inside the building before what appears to be soldiers going in. United States forces often supply air support to Iraqi forces conducting operations on the ground, feeding them video footage of what American drones see from the air.
Casualty information was confirmed by police and -officials at hospitals where the dead and wounded were taken.
Iraqi Christians, who have been frequent targets for insurgents, have left in droves since the start of the US-led war in 2003.
It was not immediately clear whether the hostages died at the hands of the attackers or during the rescue late on Sunday night in an affluent neighborhood of the capital.
The incident began when militants wearing suicide vests and armed with -grenades attacked the Iraqi stock exchange at dusk on Sunday before turning their attention to the nearby Our Lady of Deliverance church - one of the city's main Catholic places of worship - -taking about 120 Christians hostage.
Major General Hussein Ali Kamal, the deputy interior minister, said 52 people were killed and 67 wounded in the bloodbath. Officials said at least one priest and 10 policemen were among the dead.
A Christian member of parliament yesterday described the Iraqi rescue operation as "not professional," saying "it was a hasty action that prompted the terrorists to kill the worshippers."
"We have no clear picture yet whether the worshippers were killed by the security forces' bullets or by terrorists, but what we know is that most of them were killed when the security forces started to storm the church," Younadem Kana said.
Video footage from an American drone that was overhead during the attack showed a black plume of smoke followed by flashes from inside the building before what appears to be soldiers going in. United States forces often supply air support to Iraqi forces conducting operations on the ground, feeding them video footage of what American drones see from the air.
Casualty information was confirmed by police and -officials at hospitals where the dead and wounded were taken.
Iraqi Christians, who have been frequent targets for insurgents, have left in droves since the start of the US-led war in 2003.
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