Maliki orders Baghdad Karrada district commander’s arrest after bloody attack on church

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraq‘s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has ordered the detention of the Army commander of the Brigade in charge of central Baghdad’s Karrada district. The Our Lady of Salvation Church witnessed a brutal attack on Sunday night, where dozens of people were killed and injured, the semi-official al-Iraqiya Satellite Channel reported. “The Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Nouri al-Maliki, has ordered the detention of the commander of the brigade in charge of protecting central Baghdad’s Karrada area. He has further ordered an investigation be launched into the attacks on the church on Sunday evening which caused the death and wounding of about 115 persons,” the channel said. A group of armed men broke through Our Lady of Salvation Church in Central Baghdad’s Karrada district last Sunday, taking dozens of Christain worshippers who were attending a religious service captive and demanded the release of al-Qaeda detainees in Iraq and Egypt, according to a statement by the Baghdad Operations Command. The attack claimed 58 lives, including 5 of the attackers and 7 security men, whilst the other victims were Christian citizens. The number of wounded reached 75, including 15 Army and police men; the rest had been Christian civilians, according to the Baghdad Command. SKH/SR 2