Baghdad, July 13: A car bomb exploded near a church as worshippers left Sunday Mass, killing at least four civilians and injuring 18 in one of several attacks on Iraq’s beleaguered Christian minority.
The coordinated assault came as the Iraqi military predicted that insurgent attacks, though declining, could continue for a few years, raising the prospect of militant violence after the scheduled withdrawal of all US troops by the end of 2011.
Three Christians and one Muslim died in the bombing at around 7 pm near a church on Palestine Street in eastern Baghdad, said a police officer who was at the scene.
An official at al-Kindi hospital confirmed the death toll and said at least 18 people were injured.
–Agencies