Iraq: Three Christians gunned down in 'co-ordinated' attacks

Three Christians were murdered on the same night in almost simultaneous raids on two houses in Kirkuk.

Suzan Latif David and her mother-in-law Muna Banna David were killed at their home in Domeez, a southern suburb of Kirkuk, northern Iraq, at about 10pm on April 26. Within a few minutes, 17-year-old Basil Shaba was shot dead at his home in a neighbourhood nearby. Basil's father Yousif and his brother Thamir were critically injured in the attack.

The region around Kirkuk has been marred by sectarian violence as Arabs and Kurds have fought over the territory. But the bloodshed has generally not extended into Kirkuk. This has prompted church leaders to believe that the murdered Christians were targeted for their faith, not for any ethnic or political association. 7x7 reported on April 21 that Assyrian Christian Sabah Aziz Suliman was killed in Kirkuk on April 1.

(Sources: CNN, Compass Direct, Zenit)

• Pray for the family and friends of the murdered Christians. Pray for the physical and spiritual recovery of Yousif Shaba and his son Thamir.

• Ask God to protect and strengthen His people in Iraq.