L
LequteMan
Guest
Militants in Iraq targeted Christians in three separate Christmas Day bombings in Baghdad, killing at least 37 people, reports news.com.au.
In the biggest attack, a car bomb went off near a church in the capital's southern Dora neighborhood, killing at least 26 people and wounding 38, said a police officer.
The Iraq-based leader of the Chaldean Catholic Church, Louis Sako, said the parked car bomb exploded after Christmas Mass and that none of the worshippers were hurt. He said he didn't believe the church was the target.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks.
The US Embassy in Baghdad condemned the attacks, saying “the Christian community in Iraq has suffered deliberate and senseless targeting by terrorists for many years, as have many other innocent Iraqis.”
Other targets include civilians in restaurants, cafes or crowded public areas, as well as Shiites and members of the Iraqi security forces, attacked in an attempt to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led government and stir up Iraq's already simmering sectarian tensions.
In the biggest attack, a car bomb went off near a church in the capital's southern Dora neighborhood, killing at least 26 people and wounding 38, said a police officer.
The Iraq-based leader of the Chaldean Catholic Church, Louis Sako, said the parked car bomb exploded after Christmas Mass and that none of the worshippers were hurt. He said he didn't believe the church was the target.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks.
The US Embassy in Baghdad condemned the attacks, saying “the Christian community in Iraq has suffered deliberate and senseless targeting by terrorists for many years, as have many other innocent Iraqis.”
Other targets include civilians in restaurants, cafes or crowded public areas, as well as Shiites and members of the Iraqi security forces, attacked in an attempt to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led government and stir up Iraq's already simmering sectarian tensions.
