Car Bomb Kills at Least 4 Near Church in Baghdad
Security forces stand guard outside a church in Baghdad that was bombed.
(By Hadi Mizban -- Associated Press)
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Monday, July 13, 2009
BAGHDAD, July 12 -- A car bomb exploded near a church as worshipers left Sunday Mass, killing at least four civilians and injuring 18 in one of several attacks on Iraq's beleaguered Christian minority.
The coordinated assault came as the Iraqi military predicted that insurgent attacks, though declining, could continue for a few years, raising the prospect of militant violence after the scheduled withdrawal of all U.S. troops by the end of 2011.
Three Christians and one Muslim died in the bombing about 7 p.m. near a church on Palestine Street in eastern Baghdad, said a police officer who was at the scene. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
An official at Kindi Hospital confirmed the death toll and said at least 18 people were injured.
Also Sunday, a bomb exploded near a convoy of U.S. personnel that included Ambassador Christopher R. Hill, though no one was injured.
State Department spokeswoman Joanne Moore said the bomb exploded as the convoy was traveling through Dhi Qar province in southern Iraq.
Violence is sharply down in the war that began with the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, but insurgents still carry out lethal attacks on a regular basis, some seemingly aimed at fomenting sectarian tension. The U.S. military completed a withdrawal of combat forces from Iraqi cities to outlying bases last month as part of a plan to let Iraq take the lead on ensuring its own security.
Two bombs that were planted in a church in western Baghdad exploded at midnight Saturday, causing some damage but no injuries. Then three bombs exploded near other Baghdad churches at about 4:30 p.m., injuring eight civilians, police said. The fatal bombing followed 2 1/2 later.
Iraq's Christians have often been attacked by Islamist extremists, and many have fled the country.
