Iraq: In Syria's shadow

(Vatican Radio)Over 107 people have been reported dead following a series of coordinated bomb attacks in cities across the Iraq. At least 268 people were also wounded by the blasts and shootings in Shi'ite areas of Baghdad, the Shi'ite town of Taji to the north, the northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul.

No group has claimed responsibility for the wave of assaults but a senior Iraqi security official speaking on condition of anonymity to Reuters has denounced infiltration by Al Qaeda extremists and an attempt to bring Iraq to the verge of a Sunni-Shiite war in the shadow of the Syrian conflict.

Fr. Rebwar Audish-Basa is general procurator of the Antonian Order of Saint Ormizda of the Chaldeans, one of the oldest religious orders in Iraq. He says the situation in his nation is not stable yet: “there are many conflicts between the players at international level, but the victims are poor people, Iraqis seeking to restart their lives. We can not say exactly who is pulling the strings on this violence, but we pray to God to end this violence both in Iraq and throughout the Middle East”.