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Baghdad Christians cancel Christmas celebrations amid terror attack fears in Iraq
Only one Baghdad Christian church will have full Christmas celebrations this year amid fears of terrorist attacks from radical Muslims, The (London) Daily Telegraph reported today.
More than 1,000 Christian families fled Baghdad after five Islamist extremists burst into Our Lady of Salvation Church in October, murdering two priests, holding churchgoers hostage then eventually killing more than 50 people.
Amnesty International warned of an increase in violence in the lead-up to Christmas and urged the Iraqi government to do more to protect the minority group.
There were only 500,000 Christians left in Iraq, about half the number in the country seven years ago.
At Our Lady of Salvation Church, the bloodied hand prints of murdered members of the congregation remain on the walls, which are riddled with bullet holes.
The victims of the October violence included four-year-old Adam Eashoue and his father Uday, 33.
Adam's grandparents Zuher and Amal cannot bear to return to the church and are now considering leaving Baghdad. "I've lost my world," Amal said. "I don't want to leave Baghdad. I was born and married here. But I have to think of my children."