52 church deaths due to 'botched rescue'

BAGHDAD. November 2. KAZINFORM An Al-Qaeda attack that killed 52 hostages and police in a Catholic church in Baghdad proved that the Iraqi security forces lack the capability to maintain peace, an Iraqi lawmaker said Monday, Kazinform refers to Arab News.

Lt. Gen. Hussein Kamal, a deputy interior minister, said 52 hostages and police were killed and 67 wounded in the incident, which ended with police storming the Assyrian Catholic church to free more than 100 hostages seized by the militants.

Al-Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq, claimed responsibility in a statement posted on websites for the attack on "the dirty den of idolatry".

Pope Benedict condemned the attack. "I pray for the victims of this senseless violence, made even more ferocious because it struck defenseless people who were gathered in the house of God, which is a house of love and reconciliation," he said.

At least one bomb exploded at the start of the siege. Sporadic gunfire rang out for several hours over the Karrada neighborhood near the heavily fortified Green Zone district.

A federal police source said Sunday's rescue operation was extremely difficult. "The attackers were among children, armed with weapons," the source said. "Most of the casualties were killed or wounded when the security forces raided the place."

Officials say some of the attackers blew up explosives vests or threw grenades during the raid. Security sources said many of the victims died in gunfights between police and insurgents.

A lawmaker denounced the performance of Iraqi forces and said insurgents were exploiting the political vacuum. "This operation hits at the credibility of the government and its ability to handle, preserve and impose security and the enforcement of law," member of Parliament Younadam Kana said.

"Because of their lack of professionalism, and the hasty action taken by security forces in freeing the hostages, many innocent people were killed," he said.

Egypt, meanwhile refused to react to demands by the Islamic State of Iraq over two Coptic women who reportedly converted to Islam.

The SITE monitoring group said the Al-Qaeda group had given Egypt's Coptic Church 48 hours to release the two women, Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version.