Iraq: Christian targets bombed

Car bombs exploded outside four churches and the Vatican embassy in Iraq, yesterday, killing at least three people. The attacks took place within 20 minutes of each other. Three of the bombs went off in Baghdad. A further two were detonated in the northern city of Kirkuk. In Kirkuk, three civilians were killed and one wounded in the attack on the Church of the Virgin. Six civilians were hurt in the blast outside an Orthodox church. Both explosives-packed vehicles were detonated by remote control, according to a police spokesman. In Baghdad, car bombs exploded outside St Joseph's Catholic church in the suburb of Sina'a and an Anglican church in the eastern Nidhal area. There were no casualties reported in the attack on the Vatican embassy building in the east of the city. At least ten people were killed in a bomb attack outside a shop in a town south of Baghdad. The blast occurred in Iskandariya, a predominantly Shia town about 40 km from the capital. Churches in Iraq have been the target of previous bombings. In recent months there have been increasing reports of attacks on the Christian community. The 800,000 Christians make up just three per cent of Iraq's population of 26 million people.