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Gunmen Kill 2 Christians in Northern Iraq Published November 16, 2010 | Associated Press BAGHDAD <http://www.foxnews.com/topics/politics/iraq/baghdad-iraq.htm#r_src=ramp> -- Gunmen burst into a home in northern Iraq <http://www.foxnews.com/topics/politics/iraq/northern-iraq.htm#r_src=ramp> and killed two Christian men as they sat in their living room, continuing a string of attacks again spreading fear through the dwindling religious minority. In a second strike in the city of Mosul on Monday night, assailants bombed another house belonging to a Christian family, wounding a bystander, police and medical officials said Tuesday. Iraq's Christians are still reeling from an attack last month in which militants stormed a Catholic church in Baghdad during a Sunday Mass. Sixty-eight people were killed in the four-hour siege. Days later, militants attacked houses of Christians across Baghdad, killing five people. An Al Qaeda front group claimed responsibility for both of those attacks, declaring its resolve to strike Christians wherever they can be found. The officials gave details on the violence in Mosul on condition that they not be identified because they are not authorized to speak to reporters. Hundreds of Christian families have fled Mosul since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the sectarian violence that followed. Catholic officials estimate that 1 million Christians nationwide have fled the country. Mosul is Iraq's third largest city. Christians have lived there for 1,800 years, and a number of centuries-old churches and monasteries still stand in the city, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad. Mosul was a stronghold of Sunni insurgents and Al Qaedamilitants in the past, and Christians there have been abducted and killed in a targeted campaign since 2007. Fayez al-Shamani, a priest in the Mar Afram Syrian Orthodox church in Mosul, said Christians in the city live in fear despite an increased police presence around churches. "Security officials gave us assurances, but we know they cannot put a police car near every Christian house in the city," al-Shamani said in a phone interview Tuesday. "The two people killed were only guilty of being Christians." The number of Arab Christians has plummeted across the Middle East <http://www.foxnews.com/topics/politics/middle-east.htm#r_src=ramp> in recent years as many move to the West. The exodus has been particularly stark in Iraq, where Christians historically made up a large portion of the country's middle class and included doctors, engineers, intellectuals and civil servants. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
