On 25 December 2013, three

bombings A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...

occurred in two locations in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. They targeted

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

, killing 38 people and wounding 70 others.

Bombings

Two bombs first

explode An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...

d simultaneously in an outdoor market in the Christian section of Athorien in Baghdad. The market attack killed 11 people and wounded 14 others. A few minutes later, about half a mile away, a car bomb went off near St. John's Roman

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in Baghdad's southern Dora neighborhood. According to officials, "The bomb detonated at the end of Christmas

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ...

s as worshippers were leaving the church." This bombing killed 27 and wounded another 56. In total, the bombings targeting the two Christian-populated sites killed 38 and wounded 70. No group claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Reaction

* The United States Embassy in Baghdad condemned the attacks in a statement: "The Christian community in Iraq has suffered deliberate and senseless targeting by

terrorists Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

for many years, as have many other innocent Iraqis. The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

abhors all such attacks and is committed to its partnership with the

government of Iraq The federal government of Iraq is defined under the current Constitution, approved in 2005, as an Islamic, democratic, federal parliamentary republic. The federal government is composed of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as w ...

to combat the scourge of terrorism."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baghdad Christmas Day bombings, 2013 2010s in Baghdad 2013 in Iraq 2013 murders in Iraq 2013 Christmas Day bombings 21st-century mass murder in Iraq Anti-Christian sentiment in Iraq Attacks on buildings and structures in 2013 2013 Christmas Day bombings Attacks on churches in Asia Attacks on religious buildings and structures in Iraq Bombings in the Iraqi insurgency Car and truck bombings in Iraq 2013 Christmas Day bombings December 2013 crimes in Asia December 2013 events in Iraq Improvised explosive device bombings in 2013 2013 Christmas Day Marketplace attacks in Iraq Mass murder in 2013 2013 Christmas Day bombings Persecution of Christians in Iraq Religiously motivated violence in Iraq Terrorist incidents in Iraq in 2013 Building bombings in Iraq Church bombings by Islamists

Bombings

Reaction

See also

References