Associated Press
Aug 1 2004

2 dead, 38 injured in Iraqi church explosions
By ASSOCIATED PRESS

A series of coordinated explosions rocked five churches across
Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul on Sunday, killing 2 people
and wounding about 38 people in the first attacks targeting the
country’s Christian minority since the 15-month violent insurgency
here began.

Two explosions just minutes apart shook separate Baghdad churches in
a largely Christian neighborhood during Sunday evening services, and
two other blasts struck outside a church in Mosul at roughly the same
time, Iraqi officials said. Two churches in other areas of Baghdad
were hit as well Sunday evening, officials said.

US military officials in Baghdad’s Karada neighborhood, where the
first two churches were bombed, said they found a third bomb in front
another church that had not exploded. Karada is home to many of the
city’s Christians and many of its churches.

“We were in the Mass and suddenly we heard a big boom, and I couldn’t
feel my body anymore, I didn’t feel anything,” said Marwan Saqiq, who
was covered in blood. “I saw people taking me out with the wood and
glass shattered everywhere.”

US military officials said at least one and possibly both of the
blasts appeared to have come from booby trapped cars.

In Mosul, about 350 kilometers (220 miles), a car bomb blew up next
to a Catholic church while worshippers were coming out of Mass,
police Maj. Raed Abdel Basit said. Several rocket-propelled grenades
were also launched at the church, Bowman said.

The bomb, inside a white Toyota, blew up about 7 p.m. just meters
from the church, said Ghaleb Wadeea, 50-year-old engineer who lives
next door. Debris from the exploded car were scattered about the
site, with some hanging off a nearby electricity post.

A bridge in Mosul was also hit, Bowman said.

Interior Ministry spokesman Sabah Kadhim said a total of four
churches were hit in Baghdad, two in Karada, one in the Dora
neighborhood and one in New Baghdad.

At the site of the two blasts in Karada, Iraqi police and National
Guard cordoned off the area. Fire engines and ambulances raced to the
scene.

The first blast in Baghdad hit outside an Armenian church just 15
minutes into the evening service, witnesses said. The second blast
hit a Catholic church about 500 meters (yards) away.

Stunned Iraqis ran away from the scene, holding their bleeding heads
in their hands.

“I saw wounded women and children and men, the church’s glass
shattered everywhere. There’s glass all over the floor,” said
Juliette Agob, who was inside the Armenian church during the first
explosion.

The back wall of the Catholic church, where a bomb had been placed,
was badly damaged, with bricks scattered about, revealing the graves
from a cemetery behind the building. The bomb left a hole 2.5 meters
wide in the ground.

US soldiers and Iraqi police patrolled the area as emergency workers
raced to evacuate the wounded.

Three cars were in flames in front of the Armenian Church, colored
glass was scattered across the ground. Four unexploded artillery
shells were still visible inside the booby-trapped car.

Massive plumes of black smoke poured into the evening sky over the
city and US helicopter gunships circled above. Fire fighters and
residents struggled with water hoses to put out the flames, which
leapt from the front of a tan colored church.

Relatives raced to search for loved ones.

One, Roni George, was sitting on the ground weeping after failing to
find his father, mother and two brothers who were at Mass inside one
of the churches during the blast.

Numbering some 750,000, the minority Christians were already
concerned about the growing tide of Islamic fundamentalism, so long
repressed under Saddam Hussein. The majority of the Christians are
Chaldean Roman Catholic, the rest Syrian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox
and Assyrian. Most live in Baghdad and its outskirts and some dwell
further to the north.

Islamic radicals have warned Christians running liquor stores to shut
down their businesses, and have turned their sights on fashion stores
and beauty salons. The increasing attention on this minority
community has many within looking for a way out. Many are in
neighboring Jordan and Syria waiting for the security situation to
settle, while others have applied to leave the country.