Terrorists in Iraq targeted Christians in three separate Christmas Day bombings in Baghdad, killing at least 37 people, officials said on Wednesday, as reported by The Associated Press.
A car bomb went off near a church in the capital's southern Dora neighborhood in one attack, which killed at least 26 people and wounded 38, a police officer said.
In earlier attacks, two bombs "ripped through a nearby outdoor market simultaneously in the Christian section of Athorien, killing 11 people and wounding 21, the officer said," also reported by The AP.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but "Iraq's dwindling Christian community, which is estimated to number about 400,000 to 600,000 people, often has been targeted by al-Qaeda and other insurgents who see the Christians as heretics," The AP reported.
"The Christian community in Iraq has suffered deliberate and senseless targeting by terrorists for many years, as have many other innocent Iraqis," read a statement from The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
"The United States abhors all such attacks and is committed to its partnership with the government of Iraq to combat the scourge of terrorism."
"Other targets include civilians in restaurants, cafes or crowded public areas, as well as Shiites and members of the Iraqi security forces, attacked in an attempt to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led government and stir up Iraq's already simmering sectarian tensions," according to The AP.
The attacks on Christmas brings the total number of people killed in December in to 441. More than 8,000 Iraqis have been killed this year, according to United Nations estimates.
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