Xinhua News Agency – French
August 01, 2004 Sunday
Des eglises irakiennes touchees par une serie d’attentats a la bombe
BAGDAD, 1er aout
Quatre eglises a Bagdad et deux dans la ville de Mossoul (sud d’Irak)
ont ete touchees dimanche par une serie d’attentat a la voiture
piegee, lesquels ont tue au moins trois personnes et blesse plusieurs
d’autres, a indique un officiel du gouvernement irakien.
La premiere explosion s’est produite en dehors d’une eglise
armenienne et la seconde a touche une eglise catholique a environ 200
metre de loin, ont dit des temoins.
Au moins deux personnes ont ete tuees et 20 autres blessees dansles
deux premiers attentats a la voiture piegee a Bagdad, selon des
sources de police.
Au moins une personnes a ete tuee dans une des deux explosions en
dehors d’eglises a Mossoul, a 370 km au sud de Bagdad.
Ce sont les premieres attaques visant la minorite chretienne du pays
durant l’insurrection violence qui dure 15 mois dans le pays.Il
existe environ 800 000 chretiens en Irak, dont la plupart a Bagdad.

SDA – Servizio di base in Italiano
August 1, 2004
Iraq: stragi al vespro, autobombe contro chiese cristiane
Punto 1 BAGHDAD, 1 ago
Terrore e morte questa sera alla celebrazione del vespro a Baghdad e
a Mossul: sei autobombe sono esplose a pochi minuti di distanza l’una
dall’altra davanti a cinque chiese cristiane. In una sola delle
esplosioni, in una chiesa caldea a Baghdad, ci sarebbero stati 12
morti, secondo un testimone. E’ la prima volta in 15 mesi di
guerriglia contro le forze di occupazione e il nuovo potere iracheno
che la guerriglia prende di mira luoghi di culto cristiani.
Una fonte del ministero dell’interno iracheno ha detto che in almeno
due casi le autobombe esplose a Baghdad erano guidate da attentatori
suicidi, e ha detto di aspettarsi un “enorme numero di vittime”.
L’ondata di attacchi e’ stata accuratamente coordinata: gli attentati
sono avvenuti quasi contemporaneamente a Baghdad, dove sono state
colpite quattro chiese, e a Mossul, 370 chilometri piu’ a Nord, dove
sono esplose due autobombe.
L’attacco piu’ sanguinoso sembra per ora essere quello avvenuto nel
quartiere meridionale di Dora, nella capitale irachena, quando
un’autobomba e’ entrata a gran velocita’ nel parcheggio della chiesa
caldea, ed e’ esplosa mentre i fedeli uscivano alla fine della messa:
un testimone ha detto di aver visto almeno 12 persone morte e arti
umani sparsi sul luogo dell’esplosione.
La prima esplosione ha colpito a Baghdad la chiesa armena del
quartiere Karradi; la seconda, un quarto d’ora dopo, la chiesa
cattolica siriaca dello stesso quartiere, dove vivono molti
cristiani. In questo secondo attentato, secondo l’autista di
un’ambulanza, due persone sono morte e diverse altre sono rimaste
ferite.
A Mossul, secondo quanto ha detto all’agenzia di stampa “France
Presse” il comandante locale della polizia, Mohammad Amar Taha, due
autobombe sono esplose davanti alla chiesa Mar Polis, nel quartiere
Al Mohandessin, nel centro della citta’. Fonti mediche e di polizia
hanno detto che l’attentato ha fatto un morto e 11 feriti. Secondo
fonti citate dalla Reuters, sarebbero due i luoghi di culto colpiti a
Mossul.
La catena di attacchi alla chiese fa temere l’avvio di una nuova
strategia della guerriglia irachena, che mira a creare tensioni fra
le varie confessioni religiose in Iraq, non piu’ solo fra sunniti e
la maggioranza sciita, ma anche fra i musulmani e i cristiani, che
sono circa 800.000 nel Paese, quasi tutti concentrati a Baghdad.
Le autobombe contro i cristiani sono giunte al termine di un’altra
giornata di violenze: in mattinata, a Mossul, un kamikaze si e’
lanciato con un’automobile piena di esplosivo contro un posto di
polizia. A nulla e’ servito il fuoco subito aperto dagli agenti
contro l’attentatore: l’uomo e’ morto, ma l’automobile ha continuato
la sua corsa ed e’ esplosa a una ventina di metri dall’edificio.
Cinque poliziotti sono morti e piu’ di 50 altre persone, sia civili
sia poliziotti, sono rimaste ferite.
A Falluja, a Ovest di Baghdad, nel cosiddetto ‘triangolo sunnita’
dove piu’ accanita e’ la resistenza alle forze della coalizione
guidata dagli Usa, almeno dieci iracheni sono stati uccisi e una
quarantina feriti – secondo fonti irachene – in scontri con le truppe
americane, che hanno anche effettuato bombardamenti aerei.
A Samarra, altra citta’ del triangolo sunnita, a Nord della capitale,
un soldato della 1/a divisione di fanteria Usa e’ morto e altri due
sono rimasti feriti dall’esplosione di un ordigno al passaggio del
loro convoglio, secondo un comunicato militare americano.
Ed anche oggi e’ proseguita la ‘guerra degli ostaggi’: dopo i due
camionisti turchi fatti prigionieri ieri – uno e’ stato riconosciuto
dai familiari che hanno visto il video diffuso dai suoi rapitori – si
e’ appreso del sequestro, due giorni fa, di due uomini d’affari
libanesi e del loro autista siriano. Uno di loro – ha annunciato
Beirut nel pomeriggio – e’ stato liberato dalle forze di sicurezza
irachene con un’operazione di commando; resta incerta la sorte degli
altri due suoi compagni.
Intanto si e’ ingarbugliata – con l’accavallarsi di notizie
contraddittorie – la vicenda dei sette camionisti stranieri catturati
da un gruppo denominato Bandiere Nere dell’Esercito segreto islamico,
su cui da giorni e’ in corso una trattativa. Da Nairobi il ministro
degli esteri keniano ne ha annunciato la liberazione, affermando che
i sette – tre keniani, tre indiani e un egiziano – erano in salvo
nell’ambasciata egiziana di Baghdad; New Delhi e la ditta kuwaitiana
per cui lavorano gli ostaggi hanno smentito, mentre Il Cairo ha
negato che i sette fossero nella sua ambasciata; e il mediatore
iracheno, il capo tribale Hisham al Dulaymi, ha annunciato
addirittura di essersi ritirato dopo che erano sorte complicazioni
nella trattativa.

SDA – Servizio di base in Italiano
August 1, 2004
Iraq: attacco a chiese; cristiani sono 3% popolazione
ROMA, 1 ago
I cristiani sono circa il 3% dei 23 milioni di iracheni, suddivisi in
maggioranza tra cattolici e ortodossi. Nel Paese sono presenti anche
i protestanti, in numero inferiore rispetto alle altre due
confessioni, in quanto arrivati solo da pochi anni. Nazione a
maggioranza musulmana, l’Iraq conta una forte presenza di sciiti, che
sono la confessione maggioritaria con circa il 63% della popolazione,
seguiti dai sunniti che rappresentano il 34%.
Tra le popolazioni curde, stanziate nel nordest dell’Iraq e contano
circa 4 milioni di persone, si trovano ancora pochissimi ebrei, ma la
comunita’ cristiana e’ tuttora presente. Nel Paese sono presenti
anche i cristiani assiri che hanno ripreso a sperare di poter vivere
la loro specificita’ religiosa e culturale dopo la caduta di Saddam.
Molto variegata la presenza dei cattolici: sono poco meno di 800
mila, tra caldei (700 mila), latini (2.500), siro-antiocheni (75.000)
e armeni (2.000). La popolazione caldea rappresenta il terzo gruppo
etnico in Iraq, dopo arabi e curdi.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
Aug 2 2004
Azerbaijan: War-Mongering Or Warning?
By Liz Fuller
Over the past two weeks, one former and two current top Azerbaijani
officials have again affirmed their collective rejection of
international mediators’ insistence that the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict can be resolved only on the basis of mutual concessions.
Whether those Azerbaijani statements were intended primarily for
domestic consumption, or whether and to what extent they should be
construed as warnings to the international community not to pressure
Azerbaijan too forcefully to agree to concessions that might trigger
a major public backlash, is as yet unclear. Meanwhile, two senior
U.S. diplomats have made clear that Washington continues to hope for
a swift resolution of the conflict.
The first statement came on 15 July at a reception hosted by the U.S.
ambassador to Baku, Reno Harnish, in honor of the visiting OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairmen. Addressing the gathering, the three co-chairs each
stressed that no outsider is in a position to resolve the conflict,
and that the parties must themselves reach an agreement. In that
context, they welcomed the resumption of talks between senior
Armenian and Azerbaijani officials (see “RFE/RL Caucasus Report,” 9
July 2004). Vafa Guluzade, who resigned in October 1999 after serving
for years as President Heidar Aliyev’s foreign policy adviser (see
“RFE/RL Caucasus Report,” 14 October 1999), publicly rejected that
advice as “absolutely unacceptable and impermissible,” and as
intended to force Azerbaijan to come to terms with the loss of part
of its territory.
In an interview with zerkalo.az published one week earlier, Guluzade
had said that any country whose territory is occupied but which fails
to prepare for a war of reconquest should be regarded as “criminal.”
He also suggested that both the U.S. and the “West Europeans” have
failed completely to grasp the essence of the Karabakh conflict,
otherwise they would realize the futility of trying to get Azerbaijan
to reconcile itself to the loss of its territories. In addition,
Guluzade disclosed that during his tenure as President Aliyev’s
adviser, “we discussed all variants” for resolving the conflict, and
they were all “still-born:” Baku immediately rejected them as every
single peace proposal unveiled to date entailed the loss of
Nagorno-Karabakh, Guluzade said.Any country whose territory is
occupied but which fails to prepare for a war of reconquest should be
regarded as “criminal.”
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, by contrast, opined
in a 28 July interview with zerkalo.az that a new war “is not the
optimum way” to resolve the conflict. But at the same time he implied
that any compromise should come from Yerevan. A sensible compromise
with the Armenian side can be reached only if Armenia publicly
renounces the idea of independence for Nagorno-Karabakh, Mammadyarov
said. In that interview, Mammadyarov said he believes that each of
the co-chairs (France, Russia, and the U.S.) seeks to promote its own
interests in the South Caucasus. Several days earlier, however, he
sought to imply that Washington does understand that many
Azerbaijanis categorically reject the prospect of the loss of
sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh. Mammadyarov was quoted by
zerkalo.az on 22 July as saying that during his talks the previous
week in Washington with U.S. officials, U.S. Secretary of State Colin
Powell noted that it is imperative to take public opinion into
account when drafting a settlement proposal. The online daily further
quoted Mammadyarov as saying that it is not “realistic” to speak of
“resolving the conflict” until the displaced persons who fled during
the fighting (in 1992-1993) have returned to their homes. It is not
clear, however, whether by this Mammadyarov is advocating a “phased”
approach to a settlement, or whether Baku would accept a “package”
solution in which repatriation preceded the announcement of
Nagorno-Karabakh’s future status.
Finally, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told members of his
country’s diplomatic service on 27 July that “if the path of
negotiations leads us nowhere, Azerbaijan will use all other means
available, including the military option,” Turan reported. Referring
to the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs’ calls for “compromise,” Aliyev
said no compromises can be made over Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity. Aliyev has made similar statements on numerous occasions
in recent months, most recently on a tour last week of northern
districts of Azerbaijan. Both Mammadyarov and Aliyev stressed that
international law favors Azerbaijan, which is the victim of “Armenian
aggression,” and the territory of which is partially occupied.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry reacted sharply to Aliyev’s 27 July
statement, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reported on 28 July. Spokesman
Hamlet Gasparian said Aliyev’s comments show that “Azerbaijan has no
desire to settle the Karabakh conflict by peaceful means and is
laying its hopes on a solution by force.” He warned that the latter
course of action would have “disastrous consequences” for Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Minsk Group co-chairman, Ambassador Steven Mann,
told Russia’s Regnum news agency that he understands that the leaders
of both Armenia and Azerbaijan are in “a difficult position” because
passions are running high on both sides. But at the same time, he
argued that the two presidents should eschew emotion and try to reach
a compromise. On 28 July, zerkalo.az quoted John Ordway, the outgoing
U.S. ambassador to Yerevan, as urging that the conflict be resolved
as soon as possible. The paper quoted him as saying that “the status
quo is acceptable to the U.S. only as the sole alternative to the
beginning of hostilities,” and as expressing the hope that a
settlement could be reached next year. That proposed timeframe
prompted Azerbaijani commentator Rauf Mirkadyrov to conclude that
Washington is trying to strong-arm Baku into a settlement lest the
commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, now
tentatively scheduled for the summer of 2005, be jeopardized by a
resumption of hostilities.

Xinhua, China
Aug 2 2004
French Casoni named Armenia coach

PARIS, Aug. 1 (Xinhuanet) — Former French international defender
Bernard Casoni has been named as coach of Armenia.
Casoni, 43, said he had signed a one-year contract with the
Armenian football federation.
Casoni, who has previously coached Marseille from 1999-2000,
Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel and Cannes, will be assisted by fellow
former international and close friend Bernard Pardo.
Casoni heads to Armenia on Thursday for preparations for the
national team’s first qualifying match for the 2006 World Cup, a game
against Macedonia on August 18. Armenia is currently ranked 118th in
FIFA’s world rankings. Enditem
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: (374 1) 517 163
Fax: (374 1) 517 301
E-Mail: [email protected]
August 2, 2004
Statement from the Mother See on Church Bombings in Iraq
The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin learned with sorrow from the Armenian
Diocese of Iraq of the terrorist events of August 1, the result of which
caused loss of life and many to be injured. Five churches were damaged,
among them being an Armenian Catholic church. The Armenian Apostolic
churches and Diocesan headquarters of Iraq were not attacked or damaged.
The Armenian Apostolic Holy Church expresses her sympathies to the families
of the victims and all Iraqi people, and wishes complete recovery to the
wounded and injured. We pray that the centuries of friendship and peaceful
co-existence among Christian and Muslim peoples in the East will not be
endangered by similar condemnable violence; for peace to be re-established
in the region; and that the Iraqi people continue with the creation of their
safe and progressing lives.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BIRTHRIGHT ARMENIA
Contact: Linda Yepoyan
[email protected]

July 30, 2004
BIRTHRIGHT ARMENIA CELEBRATES ITS INAUGURAL YEAR
Yerevan, Armenia – Armenian youth from a cross section of our diasporan
institutions came together, joined by the newly repatriated diasporan youth
and their Homeland peers, to celebrate the launch of a new and truly
forward thinking organization, Birthright Armenia/Depi Hayk. The inaugural
festivities, under the name ” Gateway 2004″, symbolizing the organizations’
promotion of an ever-widening bridge between the Diaspora and the Homeland,
was held on July 16th in Yerevan with lively dancing, food and drink.
“Gateway 2004” marks this non-profit’s first year of operations in Armenia.
It also served as a means to highlight the diversity of the first group of
young participants which Birthright Armenia/Depi Hayk sponsored from seven
different summer volunteer, cultural, and study programs serving our
diasporan youth. It was an unprecedented evening of unification and
networking in one, under the main “Journey of Self-Discovery” theme. The 40
Depi Hayk participants of 2004 and other diasporan attendees represented the
following organizations: Armenian Volunteer Corps, Armenian Students’
Association-NY, Armenian Assembly of America, Armenian Youth Federation,
Land and Culture Organization, Armenian Medical Association and the Armenian
Church Youth Organization of America, the University of Michigan Summer
Language Institute and the Christian Youth Mission to Armenia .
Welcoming the 160 plus attendees, Birthright Armenia founder Edele Hovnanian
commented that “It is refreshing to see a truly integrated group of youth
gathered together under one roof, all of whom understand the importance of
our presence here in the Homeland at this particular time in the history of
our building a nation-state”. She then introduced Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanian to continue the welcome and opening remarks. Addressing the group,
Minister Oskanian stated:
“The first time I heard about the Depi Hayk program, I immediately jumped on
the idea, committing the Foreign Ministry to help this new organization in
any way necessary. This is the first step in really increasing the number
of diasporan youth who can experience the Homeland, and I am confident that
it will continue to grow and expand beyond North America to include young
people and groups from all over the world. This will enable young adults to
see Armenia, in all its beauty, to see its progress, to understand the good
and the bad, to take in everything that Armenia is at this moment.
The message I want to leave you with today is the following: please don’t
take what you see in Armenia today for granted. It took us a great deal to
build this and to keep this. We’ve come a long way since the early days of
independence. A long, long way. Our main source of pride should be this
Armenia. Believe in Armenia. Be committed to it. When you get back home,
stay involved, join efforts with others, influence your governments, and
become more engaged. Yes, there are many differences between the Diaspora
and the Homeland, as a result of many things like history and geography. The
result is different upbringing and different thought processes. We can
certainly bridge these gaps, and one of the best ways to do so is through
the younger generations. One of the most effective ways to do so is through
interaction among youth here on Armenian soil, so we can reach our goal and
say we are one nation, comprised of two entities, the Diaspora and the
Homeland. The two together through joint efforts will make Armenia the
place we will all be proud of.”
The Gateway 2004 celebration took place at the spacious art showroom of the
Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art – graciously offered to
Birthright Armenia by co-Founder Edward Balassanian. Live international
music was provided by Arsen Nercessian, a local musician with a
Latino/Calypso touch.
It is foreseen that “Gateway” celebrations will be an annual affair, to
capture the energy and spirit of Birthright Armenia/Depi Hayk efforts at the
peak of the summer programs, and to continually serve as a networking and
relationship building event for Armenian youth worldwide.
Birthright Armenia’s mission is to strengthen ties between the Homeland and
diasporan youth by affording them an opportunity to be a part of Armenia’s
daily life and to contribute to Armenia’s development through work, study
and volunteer experiences, while developing a renewed sense of Armenian
identity. This is accomplished by supporting and complementing the
initiatives of existing diasporan organizations that offer youth programs in
Armenia, and encouraging them to expand their offerings in depth and breath.
Birthright Armenia assists with travel fellowships, language instruction,
in-country seminars, orientation and excursions in exchange for community
service in Armenia. Please visit our Web site at
for more information.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Student is honored for genocide studies
Philadelphia Inquirer
Sunday, Aug. 01, 2004
By Wendy Walker, Inquirer Suburban Staff
WEST CHESTER, PA – For Jonathan Coull, winning the award from the
Pennsylvania Association of Graduate Students for best graduate thesis was
an honor, sure.
But getting to the awards ceremony at Bloomsburg University in June was a
real challenge.
Coull, who will receive his master’s degree in Holocaust and Genocide
Studies from West Chester University later this summer, had sold his Honda
to pay his expenses. He ended up having to beg a ride from a friend who
delivers pizzas.
“The stereotype of a starving graduate student, that’s pretty much him,”
said one of his professors, William Hewitt.
Coull’s master’s thesis, “Imperial Gods: The Second Reich’s Stolen History
and its Evolution to Nazism,” explores the complicity of the German
government in the Armenian genocide during World War I.
“The [awards] committee liked the idea that I questioned the operating
procedure for the Western world,” Coull said. “The slogan ‘Never forget?’
It’s a failure. It’s not something that we live by. We need to change the
way we see the world.”
Coull wrote most of the award-winning thesis in the Sender Fredjowicz Study
Room at the university’s library. Named after a Holocaust survivor, the room
houses books, documents, videotapes, microfilm and artwork – and a small
Oriental rug on which Coull confessed to napping during his long hours of
work.
Coull, 33, attended Upper Merion High School then graduated from East
Stroudsburg University in 1994 with a degree in criminal justice and
sociology. He spent two years in the Army, then did social work for Delaware
County Children and Youth Services, Northwestern Human Services, and other
agencies.
Tired out from social work, he took a trip to Eastern Europe and visited the
concentration camps at Auschwitz and Birkenau, where a question lodged deep
in his soul: “Where do people get these sick ideas? It’s just wrong.”
When he returned home, the question continued to haunt him, and in 2000, he
decided to enroll at West Chester to pursue a graduate degree.
“I sold my Honda. I left a really nice King of Prussia apartment. I took out
student loans,” he said. “I wondered about my sanity.”
In the Armenian genocide, the political group ruling the Ottoman Empire,
known as the Young Turks, systematically deported, tortured and killed most
of the Armenians living in the empire during World War I. According to the
Armenian National Institute, 1.5 million Armenians were killed between 1915
and 1923.
Hewitt said that after Coull started studying the Armenian genocide, “he
really took off with it… . I guess you could say that I cast little grains
of sand, and he grabbed hold of it and really ran with it and made it into a
pearl.”
While earning his graduate degree and working on his thesis, Coull also
learned German, served as a teaching assistant, and helped to organize the
university’s Holocaust collection. “He did yeoman’s work on that,” Hewitt
said.
It was an intense period, Coull said: “I was in the zone. The outside world
would just wash away.”
He said the horrific nature of much of what he read took an emotional toll.
“I would get depressed,” he said. “There were times I wept, for sure.”
Hewitt said that Coull’s thesis is a good basis for a Ph.D. thesis and “he
could get a really nice little monograph out of it.” Coull said he wants to
apply to doctoral programs to pursue his research, particularly at the
University of Toronto’s Zoryan Institute, but can’t afford it right now.
“I love the scholarly life. I love being an academic,” he said, “but the
transitions are brutal. You gotta pay the rent. What I need now is to get a
job.”
Send education news to suburban staff writer Wendy Walker, The Inquirer, 120
N. High St., West Chester, Pa. 19380; e-mail it to [email protected];
or fax to 610-701-7630. Contact Wendy Walker at 610-701-7651 or
[email protected].

The New York Times
Series of Blasts Hit Churches in Baghdad and Northern City
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 1, 2004
Filed at 1:26 p.m. ET
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — A series of coordinated explosions rocked five
churches across Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul on Sunday,
killing at least two people and injuring about 60 others in the first
attacks targeting the country’s Christian minority in a violent
15-month insurgency.
Two explosions just minutes apart shook separate Baghdad churches in a
largely Christian neighborhood during Sunday evening services,
followed shortly by two more explosions at churches in other areas of
the capital. A car bomb and grenade attack hit a church in Mosul at
roughly the same time, Iraqi officials said.
Many of the country’s Christians had become increasingly concerned
about the rising Islamic fundamentalism here and some had fled to
neighboring country’s to wait until the security and political
situation became more calm.
“What are the Muslims doing? Does this mean that they want us out?”
asked Brother Louis, a deacon at the Our Lady of Salvation, as he
cried outside the Assyrian Catholic church. “Those people who commit
these awful criminal acts have nothing to do with God. They will go
to hell.”
U.S. military officials in Baghdad’s Karada neighborhood, where the
first two churches were bombed, said they found a third bomb in front
another church that had not exploded. Karada is home to many of the
city’s Christians and many of its churches.
“We were in the Mass and suddenly we heard a big boom, and I couldn’t
feel my body anymore, I didn’t feel anything,” said Marwan Saqiq, who
was covered in blood. “I saw people taking me out with the wood and
glass shattered everywhere.”
U.S. military officials said at least one and possibly both of the
blasts appeared to have come from booby trapped cars.
The explosions in Baghdad killed one person and injured between 50 and
55 people, medical officials said. The blasts in Mosul killed one
person and injured 11 others, said police Maj. Fawaz Fanaan.
In Mosul, about 220 miles north of Baghdad, a car bomb blew up next to
a Catholic church while worshippers were coming out of Mass, police
Maj. Raed Abdel Basit said. Several rocket-propelled grenades were
also launched at the church, Bowman said.
The bomb, inside a white Toyota, blew up about 7 p.m. just yards from
the church, said Ghaleb Wadeea, 50-year-old engineer who lives next
door. Debris from the exploded car were scattered about the site, with
some hanging off a nearby electricity pylon.
A bridge in Mosul was also hit, Bowman said.
Interior Ministry spokesman Sabah Kadhim said a total of four churches
were hit in Baghdad, two in Karada, one in the Dora neighborhood and
one in New Baghdad.
At the site of the two blasts in Karada, Iraqi police and National
Guard cordoned off the area. Firefighters and emergency workers were
battling fires and helping the wounded.
The first blast in Baghdad hit outside an Armenian church just 15
minutes into the evening service, witnesses said. The second blast hit
the Assyrian Catholic church about 500 yards away.
Stunned Iraqis ran away from the scene, holding their bleeding heads
in their hands.
“I saw injured women and children and men, the church’s glass
shattered everywhere. There’s glass all over the floor,” said
Juliette Agob, who was inside the Armenian church during the first
explosion.
The back wall of the Catholic church, where a bomb had been placed,
was badly damaged, with bricks scattered about, revealing the graves
from a cemetery behind the building. The bomb left a hole nine feet
wide in the ground.
Three cars were in flames in front of the Armenian Church, colored
glass was scattered across the ground. Four unexploded artillery
shells were still visible inside the booby-trapped car.
Massive plumes of black smoke poured into the evening sky over the
city and U.S. helicopter gunships circled above. Fire fighters and
residents struggled with water hoses to put out the flames, which
leapt from the front of a tan colored church.
Relatives raced to search for loved ones.
One, Roni George, was sitting on the ground weeping after failing to
find his father, mother and two brothers who were at Mass inside one
of the churches during the blast.
Numbering some 750,000, the minority Christians were already concerned
about the growing tide of Islamic fundamentalism, so long repressed
under Saddam Hussein. The majority of the Christians are Chaldean
Roman Catholic, the rest Syrian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox and
Assyrian. Most live in Baghdad and its outskirts and some dwell
further to the north.
Islamic radicals have warned Christians running liquor stores to shut
down their businesses, and have turned their sights on fashion stores
and beauty salons. The increasing attention on this minority community
has many within looking for a way out. Many are in neighboring Jordan
and Syria waiting for the security situation to settle, while others
have applied to leave the country.

Reuters
Aug 1 2004
Cars Explode Outside Baghdad Churches; 2 Dead
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Car bombs exploded outside two Christian churches
in central Baghdad Sunday, killing at least two people, wounding
several more and damaging cars and buildings.
A security source in Baghdad said they were suicide attacks.
The first blast occurred outside an Armenian church in the Karrada
district of Baghdad, which is heavily populated with Christians, and
sent thick clouds of black smoke billowing into the sky over the
city.
The second blast happened about 15 minutes later outside an Assyrian
church in the same area, rattling windows and sending a loud boom
reverberating across the neighborhood.
An ambulance driver told Reuters at least two people were killed in
the second explosion and several more were wounded.
The first blast blew out the stained glass windows of the church,
scattered pieces of hot metal across a wide area and left the burning
wreckage of at least three cars in its wake. “There was a
booby-trapped car, it exploded,” said policeman Geilan Wahoudi at the
scene of the first explosion.
The U.S. military said it had found the shell of a mortar near that
blast, which caused several injuries but is not believed to have
killed anyone.
The bomb appeared to detonate near a generator, which may have caused
more of a conflagration, the police said.
There are an estimated 800,000 Christians in Iraq, most of them
living in Baghdad.
In recent weeks there has been a string of attacks on alcohol sellers
throughout Iraq, the vast majority of whom are Christians of either
the Assyrian, Chaldean or Armenian denominations.