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The '''October 2010 Baghdad church attack''' (also known as '''Baghdad Church Massacre''' or '''''Black Sunday''''' ) was a terror attack on a [[Syriac Catholic Church]] in [[Baghdad]], [[Iraq]], that left at least 58 people dead, including two priests, with another 75 wounded<ref name="nytimes">Shadid, Anthony (2010-11-01). [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/world/middleeast/02iraq.html "Church Attack Seen as Strike at Iraq’s Core"]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.</ref> after more than 100 had been taken hostage. The [[al Qaeda]]-linked [[Islamic State of Iraq]] claimed responsibility for the attack.
The '''October 2010 Baghdad church attack''' (also known as '''Baghdad Church Massacre''' or '''''Black Sunday''''' ) was a terror attack on a [[Syriac Catholic Church]] in [[Baghdad]], [[Iraq]], that left at least 58 people dead, including two priests, with another 75 wounded<ref name="nytimes">Shadid, Anthony (2010-11-01). [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/world/middleeast/02iraq.html "Church Attack Seen as Strike at Iraq’s Core"]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.</ref> after more than 100 had been taken hostage. The [[al Qaeda]]-linked [[Islamic State of Iraq]] claimed responsibility for the attack.

Revision as of 13:58, 3 November 2010

October 2010 Baghdad church attack
Date31 October 2010
17:30[1] – ~21:30 (UTC+4)
TargetBaghdad Stock Exchange and the Syriac Catholic Church "Our Lady of Salvation"
Attack type
Raid and hostage situation
Deaths58
Injured48+
PerpetratorsIslamic State of Iraq

The October 2010 Baghdad church attack (also known as Baghdad Church Massacre or Black Sunday ) was a terror attack on a Syriac Catholic Church in Baghdad, Iraq, that left at least 58 people dead, including two priests, with another 75 wounded[2] after more than 100 had been taken hostage. The al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack.

Background

Prior to the Iraq War, the country was described as a "mélange of beliefs, customs and traditions." However, after the war, sectarian strife took over with many Sunni and Shia killings as well as Christians, though none elicited as much outrage as this attack according to The New York Times. It also said Iraq is now "defined more by war, occupation and deprivation. Identities have hardened; diversity has faded."[2] This was the deadliest attack on a Christian target since the war.[1]

Additionally, since the 2010 election, a government has not been formed in over 6 months which has caused concern for stability in the political vacuum. Another reason for the perilous situation was seen as the American withdrawal following a Status of Forces Agreement. As a consequence a "religious fervor" was being directed at Iraqis of different faiths by mostly Sunni forces. The US war in Afghanistan was also seen as debilitating since the US would not be able to lend as much support.[3]

Attacks

Approximately five or six gunmen attacked[4] the Baghdad Stock Exchange where they killed 2 guards,[5] following a loud explosion and bursts of gunfire. The attackers then fled to the Our Lady of Salvation Catholic church,[nb 1][6] in the Karrada neighbourhood in the night. At the church, they took its construction and cleaning crew hostage. They also took the worshippers hostage, holding over 100 people at one time.

As the attackers came into the church, one witness said that they closed the door and started to shoot at the lights, the fixtures, the crucifix, the Madonna and over the Sunday service worshippers.[8] An eyewintess said the attackers shouted at them saying "All of you are infidels. We are here to avenge the burning of the Qur'ans and the jailing of Muslim women in Egypt."[9][10] Following the raid, streets in the neighbourhood were cordoned off and a standoff ensued after police came to the location two hours later.

Abdullah Hermiz, the head of Christian Endowment, a state organisation that oversees Iraq's churches, said a part of the building was under construction and so Sunday mass was held in another part of the church. He then said the worshippers were "about to leave and heard the shooting outside and because of the scary situation, some ran outside the church while others remained inside." The US military suspected the attackers were al-Qaeda operatives because of their "tactics, techniques and procedures." Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Bloom of the US army said that of the 100 people in the church, 19 managed to escape before Iraqi Special Forces stormed the church at 19:00. He said the raid was a "robbery gone wrong. We've seen them resort to robbery to get financed. It has been very challenging for them to get outside financing, so they are resorting to small, petty crimes to try to finance themselves."[11] During the rescue the lights went out, when Iraqi forces then entered the building, they shouted to parishioners: "We will save you."[1] Iraq's defense minister said a decision was made to carry out a "land offensive, and in addition an airdrop, because it was impossible to wait."[3]

Both Iraqi officials and the US military praised the rescue.[7]

An official from the church said "The men who carried out the attack were very organised – The way they entered...how well prepared and armed with machine guns, explosive belts, and everything they could need...How they quickly closed the doors and shut in the faithful. Then the security forces came."[7]

During the 4-hour siege,[12] at least 41 of the dead were hostages, including two priests, while the others were 12 policemen, 5 bystanders, and gunmen.[13] Another 78 people were wounded.[13]

Investigation

Abdul Qader al-Obeidi, Iraq's defence minister, said one of the attackers' phone calls were "fully intercepted" and he believed they were not Iraqis because they spoke classical Arabic "perhaps in an attempt to conceal his identity." Al-Baghdadiya television said it received a phone call from one of the attackers and that he demanded the release of all al-Qaeda prisoners in Iraq and Egypt. They also alleged that female Muslims were being held against their will in Coptic monasteries in Egypt.[11] al-Obeidi said other suspects had been arrested."[3]

Hussain Nahidh, a police officer reported that the suicide vests brought in by the attackers were filled with ball bearings designed to kill as many people as possible. Many people went to the hospitals without legs and hands."[14]

Responsibility

According to SITE Institute,[15] Al-Qaida's the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack.[11]

The group's claim of responsibility also called the church "the dirty den of idolatry," while also saying the fuse of a campaign against Christianity in Iraq had been lit.[16][dubious – discuss]

SITE also said Al Qaeda's statement read "Let these idolaters, and at their forefront, the hallucinating tyrant of the Vatican, know that the killing sword will not be lifted from the necks of their followers until they declare their innocence from what the dog of the Egyptian Church is doing." The group said a deadline had apparently expired for Egypt's Coptic Church to free women "hostages," and that Christians were thus "legitimate targets. All Christian centers, organisations and institutions, leaders and followers, are legitimate targets for the mujahedeen wherever they can reach them." The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood then called for churches to be protected.[17]

International reactions

  •  Iraq - The Kurdistan Regional Government condemned the attack in a statement saying "We strongly condemn this terrorist attack on our Christian brethren in Baghdad. We send our condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery for the wounded."[18]
    • Iraq's top Catholic prelate, Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, encouraged an already dwindled Christian population of 1.5 million not to leave, while he also condemned the attack as "We have never seen anything like it, militants attacking God's house with worshippers."[1] Monsignor Eyos Qasho, a church official said, "If the sons of this country cannot live in peace then the situation is clearly unacceptable. Had we been provided with adequate security, this would not have happened." Chaldean Bishop Shlimon Warduni said "This is tragic for Christians and for all of Iraq. If we had a government and laws and people all over the world to help us it would be much better." Father Douglas Yousef al-Bazy, who worked with the priests killed in the attack said that, while he was also stopped at a roadblock as he sought to get to the church afer hearing explosions, the attack was "really terrible. The people who did this want to kill the church – the priests who served them and the people and even the building. We lost our best friends there. When someone dies we say there is a reason, but actually when they are killed – when they kill young people, young priests they are trying to kill our future. Those who say we are safe, that we can live peacefully in Iraq, they are liars. But we will stay in this country because still there are Christian people here and we still have a mission here."[7]
  •  Iran - Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast offered condolences to the Iraqi people and government and said: "The incident was a measure for return of terrorism and violence to Iraq and affecting the political process of government formation."[19] A few days later a meeting of the Majlis also generally criticised "some regional and foreign" players for destabilising Iraq.[20]
  •  Holy See - Pope Benedict XVI condemned the "absurd violence,[21][22] made more ferocious because it was directed against unarmed people gathered in the house of God."[3] He also called for renewed international efforts at brokering peace in the region.[23]
  •  Russia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "Moscow presents profound condolences over the death of innocent civilians and Iraqi policemen. We strongly condemn the crime of terrorists and the attacks on freedom and life of believers of any religion."[24]
  •  United States - White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said: "The United States strongly condemns this senseless act of hostage taking and violence by terrorists linked to al Qaeda in Iraq that occurred Sunday in Baghdad killing so many innocent Iraqis."[25]
    • Martin Manna, the executive director of the Michigan-based Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce, responded to the attack saying: "Our community's just so frustrated more than anything else. Security is just terrible. The Iraqi government...can't protect their people."[26]

Notes

  1. ^ Some sources say it was a Chaldean Catholic Church,[6] while others suggest it was a Syriac Catholic Church.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Bombings, Mortar Strikes Kill 76 Across Baghdad". NPR. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  2. ^ a b Shadid, Anthony (2010-11-01). "Church Attack Seen as Strike at Iraq’s Core". The New York Times. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  3. ^ a b c d Bridge, Robert (2010-11-01). "Deadly Baghdad church siege overshadows US pullout". RT. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  4. ^ "Eyewitness: Baghdad church siege". BBC News. 1 November 2010. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  5. ^ Hammoudi, Laith (2010-11-01). "Insurgents in Iraq seize Catholic church in Baghdad". The Miami Herald. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  6. ^ a b Chulov, Martin (2010-11-01). "Baghdad church siege leaves 52 dead". The Guardian. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  7. ^ a b c d Arraf, Jane (2010-11-01). "After Baghdad church attack, Christians shocked but say 'we still have a mission here'". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  8. ^ "Eyewitness: Baghdad church siege". BBC News. November 1, 2010: "...there would be an explosion or gunshots over our heads, over the lights, over the fixtures, over the Crucifix, over the Madonna, everywhere."
  9. ^ "Baghdad church siege leaves 52 dead". The Guardian. November 1, 2010: "Mahrouq said a group of about 100 worshippers were herded to the centre of the church by the gunmen who repeatedly taunted them. Another 60 or so were ushered to a small room at the back of the church by a priest. "They were saying to us, 'you are infidels,'" Mahrouq said. "Things like: 'we're going to heaven, you're going to hell.'"
  10. ^ "Baghdad church siege survivors speak" The Guardian Nov. 1, 2010. retrieved Nov. 3, 2010
  11. ^ a b c "Al-Qaeda claims Iraq church attack". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  12. ^ "Siege of Baghdad church ends". The Hindu (2010-06-01). Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  13. ^ a b Surk, Barbara; Jakes, Lara (1 November 2010). "Iraqi Christians mourn after church siege kills 58". yahoo.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
  14. ^ "Iraqi Forces Storm a Church With Hostages in a Day of Bloodshed"New York Times 1 Nov 2010, retrieved Nov. 3, 2010
  15. ^ "Hostages Killed in Al-Qaeda Attack on Baghdad Church". Almanar.com.lb (2010-11-01). Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  16. ^ "52 die in attack on 'dirty den of idolatry'". The Star (2010-11-02). Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  17. ^ http://www.almanar.com.lb/newssite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=160762&language=en
  18. ^ "Kurdistan Region Presidency condemns terrorist attack on Baghdad church". www.krg.org. 11-02-2010. Retrieved 11-02-2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  19. ^ "Iran condemns deadly hostage taking in Baghdad church". Iranian Students News Agency (2010-11-03). Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  20. ^ http://www.presstv.ir/detail/149481.html
  21. ^ "Pope condemns Baghdad church attack". The Sydney Morning Herald. November 1, 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
  22. ^ "Pope denounces Baghdad church attack, urges peace". The Washington Post. November 1, 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
  23. ^ "Pope denounces Baghdad church attack, urges peace". MSNBC. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  24. ^ "Moscow denounces attack on Catholic church in Baghdad". Interfax. (2010-11-01). Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  25. ^ Bohan, Caren (2010-11-01). "U.S. condemns al Qaeda-linked church attack in Iraq" Reuters. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  26. ^ Angel, Cecil (2010-11-02). "Metro Chaldeans outraged". Detroit Free Press. freep.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
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