Kirkuk, Iraq, Aug 16, 2011 / 04:23 am
In less than two weeks, car bomb attacks have hit three churches in the northern Iraq city of Kirkuk. The city’s archbishop lamented that Christians’ security concerns are not a priority for the government.
On Aug. 15 it seemed that the entire country of Iraq was being hit with bomb attacks. The coordinated bombings hit 17 cities, ranging from northern Sunni lands to the southern Shiite-dominated region. According to an Associated Press estimate, 63 people were killed and 250 injured.
The explosion at St. Ephrem’s Syrian Orthodox Church at 1:30 a.m. Aug. 15 did not injure anyone. But its priest, Fr. Gewargis Elias, was lucky to escape with his life.
Security staff spotted a vehicle carrying suspicious devices and ordered him out just minutes before the blast, Aid to the Church in Need reports.