We are in sorrow to already need to report several acts of violence against Christians in Iraq today on Christmas Day.
While reports vary, at least three, possibly four different incidents of car bombings or other types of attacks have occurred across the country and there are conflicting reports of between 37 to 40 deaths. In one attack, a car bomb went off near a church during Christmas Mass in the capital’s southern Dora neighborhood killing 26 people and wounding another 38 a police officer said. A little bit earlier, a bomb ripped through an outdoor market in the nearby Christian section of Athorien killing 11 people and wounding 21 others.
In the Dora attack, Ahmed Edan, a policeman on duty in the area of the attacks, said the sound of the first of the two explosions caused worshippers to leave the church. “A car parked near the church exploded when the families were hugging each other goodby before leaving. The blast was powerful,” he said. “Bodies of women, girls and men were lying on the ground covered in blood. Others were screaming and crying while they were trying to save some of their wounded relatives.”
There have been no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks but Iraq’s dwindling Christian community, estimated to number between 4 to 600,000 people, has often been targeted by al-Qaeda and other insurgents who see the Christians as unbelievers. Along with Christians, other targets include civilians in restaurants, cafes or crowded public areas as well as Shiites and also members of the Iraqi security forces who are targeted in an attempt to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led government and to stir up Iraq’s already simmering sectarian tensions.
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad condemned the violence in a statement released Wednesday. The statement read, “The United States abhors all such attacks and is committed to its partnership with the Government of Iraq to combat the scourge of terrorism.”
Wednesday’s bombings came amid a massive military operation in Iraq’s western desert as authorities try to hunt down insurgents who have stepped up attacks across Iraq in the past months sending violence to levels not seen since 2008. The Christmas Day attacks bring the total number of people killed so far this month in Iraq to 441 and according to U.N. estimates, more than 8,000 people have been killed since the start of the year.
FGGAM asks all to hold persecuted Christians around the world up in prayer today as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
