Baghdad, Iraq – Car bombs exploded in quick succession Sunday near four Christian churches and the office of the Vatican envoy, killing three people and raising new concerns about sectarian tensions. At least 17 other people were killed in other violence around the country.
No group claimed responsibility for the bombings, which occurred within a half hour near two churches in Baghdad and two in Kirkuk, 180 miles to the north. The fifth bomb exploded about 50 yards from the Vatican mission in the capital.
Suspicion fell on Islamic extremists such as al-Qaeda in Iraq – led by Jordanian-born terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al- Zarqawi – that have been responsible for massive car bombings and suicide attacks against Iraqi Shiite civilians.
The U.S. military announced the death of an American soldier in a roadside bomb blast in Baghdad on Saturday. At least 2,241 U.S. military personnel have died since the war began, according to an Associated Press count.
The attacks on Christian sites come at a time of rising sectarian tensions, including reprisal killings and raids, that threaten to complicate efforts to form a broad-based government after the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections.
“This was a reaction from the al-Zarqawi people against Christians who they believe support the U.S. military in Iraq,” senior Shiite lawmaker Ali al-Adeeb said. “Such acts are rejected by Shiites and Sunnis alike who have been living together with our Christian brothers in Iraq throughout history.”
Despite the relatively low casualty toll, the bombings are expected to raise fears among the country’s small Christian minority – about 3 percent of Iraq’s 27 million people.
