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A spate of bomb attacks on churches in Iraq forced many Christians to cut short their Christmas worship celebrations.

At least five churches are reported to have been bombed in the run-up to Christmas, striking fear into the hearts of Christians and forcing many churches to cancel services.

The Syrian Orthodox church of St Thomas in the northern town of Mosul was attacked at about 11am on Wednesday December 23. On the same day, three people were killed – one Christian and two Muslims – when a bomb was detonated near the Chaldean church of St George, also in Mosul. The device had been hidden in a cart of vegetables outside the church. AsiaNews reports that both churches are of 'great historical and cultural value'.

Two other churches and a school in Mosul had suffered previous bomb attacks on December 15. The Church of Saint Ephrem and a convent in the city were bombed on November 26 (Prayer Alert, December 15, 2009).

Middle East Concern advocacy group and AsiaNews report that some churches cut short their programme of events – while some churches in Mosul and Kirkuk cancelled all their Christmas services, following the church bombings.

The Archbishop of Kirkuk, Louis Sako, told The Washington Post that it was the first time that churches in his city had cancelled Christmas celebrations. But he insisted that many Iraqi Christians are determined not to be driven out of their land and are standing firm in their faith. 'We want to work together to build peace and hope in the hearts of all men and women of Iraq,' he told AsiaNews.

(Sources: AFP, AsiaNews, CNS, Middle East Concern, The Voice of the Martyrs Canada, The Washington Post)

• Pray for God's peace to rest over His church in Iraq. Pray for lasting peace for this troubled nation, especially in the run-up to parliamentary elections in March.
• Pray for fresh determination for the Iraqi church to spread the gospel.

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