Four Baptist American aid workers fatally shot, one wounded in Mosul, Iraq

Four Americans researching needs for humanitarian projects in Mosuk, the city of northern Iraq on Tigris River, were killed and one was wounded in a drive-by shooting on March 15. The victims were traveling in a car on the eastern side of the city when they were attacked, said Lt. Col. Joseph Piek, a military spokesman in Mosul.

Four of those killed were Larry Elliott, 60, and Jean Dover Elliott, 58, of Cary, N.C., and Karen Watson, 38, of Bakersfield, Calif. all of whom worked for the Southern Baptist International Mission Board. David E. McDonnall, 28, of Rowlett, Texas, died Tuesday morning (Mosul, Iraq, time) en route to a military support hospital in Baghdad. Four U.S. military surgeons had worked for six hours to save his life. His wife, Carrie Taylor McDonnall, 26, of Rowlett, Texas, remains in critical condition.

Jerry Rankin, the International Mission Board (IMB) President, said all Southern Baptists shared the sorrow and grief of the families and co-workers. "In times like this, there are no words that will take away the pain of a loved one's violent death," Rankin said. "Everyone in the IMB family and everyone who loves Southern Baptists' overseas workers are grieving with the family members and co-workers of these precious souls. We are grateful that God himself comes alongside us in our deepest sorrow and comforts us in a way no one else can."

The IMB has launched its prayer network and is asking Christians around the world to pray for the comforting of all the families involved and the healing of the injured workers. The board is ministering to the families of the victims. A field representative has been dispatched to the injured workers, who are being treated at a U.S. military hospital.

Mosul has been the scene of violence since late last year and as recently as last weekend. On Jan. 31, a suicide bomber detonated a car full of explosives in front of a police station, killing nine people. On Sunday, insurgents sprayed an Iraqi government convoy with gunfire, killing the regional secretary of labor and social affairs and his driver.