Last October, at least 70 people were killed during a siege on Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad making it the worst massacre of Iraqi Christians since 2003. The Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaeda affiliate, claimed the attacks were in response to actions by the Coptic Church in Cairo. Less than two months later, extremists bombed the homes of more than a dozen Christian families throughout Baghdad. On New Year’s Eve in Alexandria, Egypt, at least 21 people were killed by a suicide bomber while leaving a Coptic Church following a worship service. It was the worst violence against the country’s Christian minority in a decade.
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's hearings on the increased sectarian violence in Iraq and Egypt on Thursday, January 20, 2011:
Christian Minorities Under Attack – Iraq and Egypt
Anna Eshoo,Member of Congress
Nina Shea,
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
Sister Rita,
Order of Preachers
Michele Dunne,
Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Dina Guirguis,
Keston Family Research Fellow, Washington Institute for Near East Policy