Syrian Orthodox Church among attacks in Iraq by extremists

(March 21, 2012) In Iraq, the Syrian Orthodox Church of St. Matthew, in Baghdad, was one of the objectives targeted by Iraqi extremists on Tuesday morning. The Iraqui extremists carried out a series of attacks across the country to coincide with the ninth anniversary of the U.S. invasion - March 20, 2003 - to overthrow Saddam Hussein Nasser. Church sources in Iraq asking for anonymity for safety reasons, told AsiaNews, that two guards were killed in the attack, while five others were injured. Meanwhile, the provisional toll from the bomb attacks in more than 20 explosions in the capital Bagdad, in Kirkuk, in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, and Hillah in Mahmoudiya - is at least 39 dead and 200 wounded.
Iraqi political experts interviewed by AsiaNews emphasized that Tuesday’s attacks could be linked to the upcoming Arab League summit, to be held in Baghdad - for the first time since 1990 from 27 to 29 March. They said "There are nations, who want to derail the summit, because the league is composed of a majority of Sunnis. The attackers want to strike at key events and we expect more attacks in the coming days . Violence in Iraq is not finished, they added.