BAGHDAD: A bomb targeting a church in northern Iraq killed two men and damaged the historic building Wednesday, a day before Christmas Eve services that will be heavily guarded for fear of more attacks on the country’s Christian minority.
The bomb in the city of Mosul was hidden under sacks of baking flour in a handcart left 15 yards from the Mar Toma Church, or the Church of St. Thomas, a police officer said. The officer said the two men killed were Muslims and that five other people were injured. A hospital official confirmed the casualties. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information to news media.
“Instead of performing Christmas Mass in this church, we will be busy removing rubble and debris,” Hazim Ragheed, a priest at the church, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. The blast damaged the wooden doors, windows, some furniture and one of the walls of the church, which is more than 1,200 years old, Ragheed said. Services will be moved out of the church, but Ragheed did not say where they would be held.
“We demand that the government put an end to these repeated attacks,” Ragheed said.
The blast occurred in an area where streets have been closed to cars and trucks to protect Mosul’s dwindling Christian population.
Iraqi defense officials warned earlier in the week that intelligence reports pointed to attacks during Christmas, leading the government to step up security near churches and Christian neighborhoods.
