Car bombs exploded in quick succession Sunday near four Christian churches and the office of the Vatican envoy, killing three people and raising new concerns about sectarian tensions. At least 17 other people were killed in other violence around the country.
No group claimed responsibility for the bombings, which occurred within a half hour near two churches in Baghdad and two in Kirkuk, 180 miles to the north. The fifth bomb exploded about 50 yards from the Vatican mission in the capital.
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Clergy and Iraqi soldiers gather near bomb wreckage in front of the Disciples Mar Putros and Mar Polos Orthodox Christian church, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq. Car bombs exploded in a synchronized spree of attacks outside at least four churches in Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk within a short period, killing at least three Iraqis and wounding nine, police said. |
Suspicion fell on Islamic extremists such as al-Qaida in Iraq — led by Jordanian-born terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi — that have been responsible for massive car bombings and suicide attacks against Iraqi Shiite civilians.
The attacks on Christian sites came at a time of rising sectarian tensions, including reprisal killings and raids, that threaten to complicate efforts to form a broad-based government following the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections.
"This was a reaction from the al-Zarqawi people against Christians who they believe support the U.S. military in Iraq," senior Shiite lawmaker Ali al-Adeeb said. "Such acts are rejected by Shiites and Sunnis alike who have been living together with our Christian brothers in Iraq throughout history."
A prominent Sunni Arab politician, Naseer al-Ani, called the bombings "terrorist acts."
Three people died in the bombing at the Church of the Virgin in Kirkuk, police said. At least nine people were injured in the bombings, which caused little damage to the Christian buildings.
Despite the relatively low casualty toll, the bombings are expected to raise fears among the country's small Christian minority — about 3 percent of Iraq's 27 million people. At least 12 people were killed in a series of church bombings in 2004. The attacks targeted both Orthodox and Catholic churches.
Vatican officials had no immediate comment.
CFPA: We are too angry to comment at this time!
