Assyrian (NOT Arab) Christians flee Iraq - 16/11/10 ABC NEWS AUSTRALIA

Official Report - 1/11/10
source: aina.org

At least 37 people have been killed after Iraqi security forces stormed a Catholic church in central Baghdad to free dozens of hostages being held by gunmen there, security sources say.

Twenty-five hostages were among the dead, along with se...ven members of the Iraqi security forces and at least five of the attackers, they told the BBC.

About 100 people had been inside Our Lady of Salvation for an evening Mass.

The gunmen had reportedly demanded the release of jailed al-Qaeda militants.

The local TV station, al-Baghdadiya, said it had received a phone call from someone claiming to be one of the attackers, who said they were from the Islamic State of Iraq, a Sunni militant umbrella group to which al-Qaeda in Iraq belongs.

Reports said the attackers were not Iraqis, but foreign Arabs.

The raid came two days after a suicide attack on a cafe in Diyala province left 21 people dead.

'Priest killed'

Residents of Baghdad's Karada district, where the attack took place, first heard a loud explosion at about 1700 (1400 GMT), followed by gunfire.

Police said a group of armed men began by attacking the Iraq Stock Exchange building, and then took over the Catholic church just across the road, clashing with guards and killing some of them.

Security forces later surrounded the church and sealed off the area, with helicopters hovering overhead. Then they stormed the building.

Witnesses nearby said they then heard two explosions from inside the church and more shooting.

One eyewitness, who was inside the church, was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying that the gunmen "came into the prayer hall and immediately killed the priest".

The witness, who declined to give his name, said the people in the church had huddled into the main prayer hall when the gunbattles began with the security forces.

The gunmen reportedly threw grenades and blew their suicide vests.

There were no negotiations with the gunmen before the security forces stormed the church, reports suggest.

Witnesses also say they saw US troops on the ground and US military helicopters hovering above the scene, but the extent of their involvement is not yet clear.

"The operation has finished and we released all the hostages," said the commander of police in south-eastern Baghdad, Brig-Gen Ali Ibrahim.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says there are different figures from different sources for the number of hostages and attackers involved, and how many of each were killed or captured.

Earlier reports said that two security guards at the stock exchange had been killed before the attackers occupied the church.

Many churches have been bombed in recent years - including Our Lady of Salvation in August 2004 - and priests kidnapped and killed, but there has never been a prolonged hostage situation like this before, our correspondent says.

There are about 1.5 million Christians from ancient denominations in Iraq.

Iraqi Christians have been leaving the country in droves since the US-led invasion in 2003.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Assyrian
• Syriac
• Syrian
• Catholic
• Church
• Islam
• Muslim
• Iraq
• Iraqi
• Terrorist
• Terrorists
• Christians
• Christian

[toniiraker]

arab christians

not assyrian!

[assyrian2NV]

@toniiraker Shut up imbocile

[PFLPGermany]

@toniiraker yes brother im also arab christian we are not assyrians !!

[MrTeekn]

سبحان الله يردون الفتنة بين العرب بس

بس حب اقول لك مادام يوجد 300 مليون عربي على هذا البسيطة لن تحقوقو مرادكم

[MrDiem2]

Not to be a troll but here is the facts. Assyrian is a TERRIBLE name for an ethnic group, the Christians of the middle east are not "Assyrians" they are Arameans or descendents of Syriac Christian Arabs like the Taghlibs, but some of them don't like to be called "Arab christians" because they hate Arabs. Let me ask you this then, do you think Jesus would want you to HATE Arabs? If you read up on history you would se that Arabs and Christians co-existed in peace for a millenia before all the hate

[ahmed337799]

i assyrian

i shit better than arab

so i not arab

i am assyrian

because my shit

is better

[schalomjesus]

Its Fuc cking unimportant.

Most christians fromn iraq indendificate themself as "iraqi"

not as arab or assyrian

so shut YOU up

may god bless arab christian and iraqi christians

[MusicToMyEars36]

@SamerIRAQ anytime my friend and thank you. Well i hope you live a wonderful life in holland.. Iraq is pretty much finished now.. although i hope one day it will be good so i can visit my home land. God bless!!

[SamerIRAQ]

@MusicToMyEars36 thank you so much for your replay. I really agree with you what you said bro and My father was in the army and he was patience and even my parents too but I did'nt fled from IRAQ my father was looking for another job to another country wich means I live now in Holland and. My father left IRAQ in 1997 and me and my mother plus my lil bro we left IRAQ in 1998.. insha'Allah everything will be fine but ..this is ..sooo soo horrofic thats not good :S 

[MusicToMyEars36]

@SamerIRAQ everything you just said i know.. but there are brain washed muslims out there man that take jihad the wrong way!!

i know there are many muslims that think is horrific, at the end of the day there are good and bad in every nationality/religion. I was born in iraq too (mosul) but we fled in 88 cauz my dad who was in the army didn't want me n my brother going to the army like he did.

[SamerIRAQ]

@MusicToMyEars36  dude AL qaeeda is bullshit its fake is supported by the CIA and read more about Illuminati cuz they are doing this

they devoted *shi'te muslims from the shi'te party: Nour AL Maliki that motherfucker asshole was responsible for this and I was born near that Church Al Najat and I love Assyrians-Chaldeans of IRAQ and im an IRAQI muslim(sunni) but I'm Iraqi of Baghdad. and I had tears when that horrofic things happend in that church. Damn stupid