Religion Roundup
Iraqi Official: 3,000 Christians Have Fled Mosul in Past Week
Associated Press
October 13, 2008
BAGHDAD - Thousands of terrified Christians have fled Mosul to escape extremist attacks that have increased despite U.S. and Iraqi military operations to secure the northern Iraqi city.
The governor of Nineveh province says some 3,000 Christians have left Mosul in the past week.
He says the Iraqi Christians were previously "subjected to abduction attempts and paid ransom, but now they are subjected to a killing campaign."
Mosul police have reported finding the bullet-riddled bodies of seven Christians in separate attacks so far this month. On Saturday, militants blew up three abandoned Christian homes in Mosul.
A priest in Mosul, noting that members of his church respect Islam and its clerics, says, "We don't know under what religion's pretexts these terrorists work."
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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