Tens of Thousands of Iraqi Christians Flee En Masse

Forty thousand Iraqi Christians have fled Iraq since a wave of church bombings killed up to 15 people two weeks ago, the Iraq's displacement and migration minister, Pascale Isho Warda confirmed.

The number of fleeing Christians was much higher than previously estimated and this emigration "is due to insecurity and the attacks on the churches in Baghdad and Mosul," said Warda, the only Christian member of Iraq's interim government. More believers were expected to follow amid signs of growing Muslim violence in areas such as the troubled town of Najaf.

The minister expressed concern for "the serious rise in numbers of Iraqi emigrants because of the multiplication of terrorist operations and insecurity which threatens all Iraqi communities, and includes the Christians."

Earlier this month six bombs were set off by terrorists that targeted Christians and churches during Sunday services. Churches in Baghdad and Mosul were attacked during morning services, killing up to 15 people and injuring more than 50.

Police reported that a suicide bomber set off a car bomb outside the Armenian church in the Karada district. Within minutes, another bomber set off an explosion near the Syriac church. In southern Baghdad, a large church and seminary were turned into a war zone. Another blast destroyed the Chaldean Catholic church in eastern Baghdad.

North of Baghdad in Mosul, bombers set off two car bombs near a Syrian church. In the city of Kirkuk, there are reports of another explosion set off in a Christian residential neighbourhood.