Attackers plant car bombs in front of churches in Kirkuk, Iraq

(Aug.03, 2011) In Iraq, a car bomb exploded outside a Syrian Catholic church in the northern city of Kirkuk leaving at least 20 people injured, among them a nun and two priests. The early morning attack on Tuesday, August 2, was the first time the Holy Family Syrian Catholic church had been a target. Police defused two other car bombs, one in front of a Christian school and another in front of a Presbyterian church. Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk told AsiaNews that the blast set nearby cars on fire and damaged not only the church, but also about 30 surrounding homes. Most of those injured were in their homes at the time of the blast.
Archbishop Sako, who visited the injured in the hospital described the attack as terrible, saying that both Christians and Muslims were wounded. He said the bombing and planned attacks caused a great deal of sorrow because it happened just after the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, "a holy time of fasting and prayer and conversion." He said “Christians are sad and in shock because such a sacred place and innocent people were targeted. He also said “We are shocked because Christians play no role in the political games in Kirkuk -- an oil-rich city rife with tensions between ethnic Arabs, Turkmen and Kurds. We are always for what is good, for dialogue, and we have good relations with everyone," he added. Archbishop Sako hoped and prayed this was the last act of violence.