Talabani condemns attack on Catholic church in Baghdad

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani condemned on Monday the suicide attack on a Catholic church in central Baghdad, during which scores were killed or wounded, according to a presidential statement. The death toll from a hostage standoff at a Catholic church in Baghdad has risen to 58. Seventy-five others were wounded in the attack by armed gunmen Sunday, the officials said, adding that most of the casualties were women and children. Two priests were also among the dead as well as 17 security officers and five gunmen. “All the marks point out that this incident carries the fingerprints of al Qaeda,” Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul Qader Obeidi said on state television Sunday. He said that most of the hostages were killed or wounded when the kidnappers set off explosives inside the church. At least two of the attackers were wearing explosive vests, which they detonated just minutes before security forces raided the church, the police officials said. The forces arrested nine gunmen and freed 50 hostages. About 100 people had been inside the church for an evening Mass. The Islamic State of Iraq later claimed responsibility for the attack through a statement posted on a its website. SH (S) 1