Tight security measures on Kirkuk churches

KIRKUK / IraqiNews.com: The Kirkuk Districts’ Police Department imposed on Saturday stringent security measures on churches in Kirkuk over concerns about possible “terrorist and sabotage” acts in light of a U.S. pastor’s calls to burn books of the Quran on the 9/11 anniversary, according to the KDPD chief. “Intensive deployment of policemen was in place on churches in the city of Kirkuk as part of a plan already taken for the Eidul-Fitr holiday,” Brig. Sarhad Qader told IraqiNews.com news agency. A Quran burning ceremony to take place at a Florida church on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks has provoked international condemnation from military and political leaders to celebrities. It is feared the event at the Dove World Outreach Centre, an evangelical church in Gainesville, will put the lives of coalition forces serving in Afghanistan at risk and inflame religious tensions worldwide. Senior figures in the US have denounced the ceremony, which marks the ninth anniversary of the terrorist atrocities, as contrary to American values, while religious figures from around the globe branded the move “abhorrent” and “disrespectful”. However, Terry Jones, the church’s pastor has remained defiant, insisting that the plans to burn 200 Qurans on Saturday will go ahead despite mounting pressure. U.S. President Barack Obama said: “This could increase the recruitment of individuals who would be willing to blow themselves up in American cities or European cities. This is a recruitment bonanza for al-Qaeda. “If he (Rev Jones) is listening, I hope he understands that what he’s proposing to do is completely contrary to our values as Americans. That this country has been built on the notion of freedom and religious tolerance.” The oil-rich Kirkuk, a city of multi-ethnic and multi-religious population, lies 250 km northeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. AmR (S) 1