Attack on Sayidat al Nejat Cathedral in Baghdad in 2010

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Coordinates: 33 ° 18 ′ 25 ″  N , 44 ° 25 ′ 33 ″  E

Sayidat al Nejat Cathedral (2010)

The 2010 attack on the Sayidat al-Nejat Cathedral in Baghdad is related to the storming of the Syrian Catholic Sayidat-al-Nejat Cathedral in Baghdad on October 31, 2010 by Islamist terrorists . 68 people were killed and around 60 were wounded. Among those killed were 2 priests (Taher al-Qasboutros and Wassim Sabih), 7 police officers and all the assassins. The " Islamic State of Iraq " claimed responsibility for the attack .

course

Attack on the stock market

Before the attack on the cathedral, the assassins attacked the Baghdad stock exchange, but were repulsed by the local security forces.

hostage taking

During the evening mass, between five terrorists, according to the US military or nine according to the Iraqi security forces, stormed the cathedral, where around 120 people were staying. The storm had been preceded by several explosions in front of the church. They shot the pastor and took hostages. The assassins, who identified themselves as part of the Islamic State of Iraq group, were armed with rifles, hand grenades and explosive belts and barred windows and doors.

negotiations

The Al-Baghdadia TV station claims to have had contact with the hostage-takers. According to their statement, the hostage-takers demanded the release of several Islamists in Iraq and Egypt and announced further similar attacks. In addition, two Muslim women in Egypt were to be freed from the hands of the Copts within 48 hours . This refers to an affair in Egypt in which two women converted to Christianity in unclear and confusing circumstances. After broadcasting the hostage-takers' demands, the station building was surrounded by security forces and disconnected from the power supply. After that, transmission was briefly interrupted.

Storming

After the hostage-takers apparently began to systematically shoot the hostages two hours later, the cathedral was stormed by Iraqi special forces with US support (aerial photographs were provided). The terrorists detonated two explosive belts. Forty-four believers, eight hostage-takers and six security guards were killed and five hostage-takers were arrested.

Subsequently

Confession letter

On November 3rd, a letter of responsibility from the group " Islamic State of Iraq " appeared on several websites . They assumed responsibility for the attack and announced that they would consider Christian organizations, church members and believers as legitimate targets.

Manhunt

According to unconfirmed reports by the BBC , the attackers were not Iraqis.

Reactions

The funeral service for the dead took place on November 2nd and was by Emanuel III. Deli headed.

After the attack, MP Yonadam Yousef Kanna voiced massive criticism of the security forces. They would have acted too “not very professionally” and “hastily”. Most of the hostages died during the rescue operation.

Pope Benedict XVI described the act as "absurd and cruel violence" and the German bishops spoke of "murderous fanaticism".

Grand Ayatollah Sistani , a senior Shiite cleric in Iraq, and Sheikh Ahmed Tayeb , imam at the Sunni Azhar University in Cairo, strongly condemned the attack.

The German government reacted "horrified and sad".

On November 8th, a week after the attack, the French government sent a plane to Baghdad that flew 36 injured people and 21 of their relatives to Paris to provide them with medical care. In total, the government has promised to take in 150 victims of the attack.

A memorial was erected in the courtyard of the church with the names of 47 dead.

Legal

On August 3, 2011, a court in Baghdad sentenced three defendants to death. They were accused of planning and preparing the attack. There is still the possibility of an appeal. A fourth defendant was previously sentenced to 20 years in prison in a separate trial.

refugees

The attack, together with the murder of Bishop Paulos Faraj Rahho in 2008, is considered to be the reason for the mass exodus of Iraqi Christians from Iraq.

Web links

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 46 victims of the attack on the Syrian cathedral are buried. In: kathweb. November 2, 2010, accessed November 2, 2010 .
  2. ↑ a b Death penalty for being held hostage in Baghdad church. In: ORF . August 3, 2011, accessed August 3, 2011 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g Martin Gehlen: The hostages die in the church. In: Frankfurter Rundschau. November 1, 2010, accessed November 2, 2010 .
  4. ↑ Martin Gehlen: Christians in fear. In: Frankfurter Rundschau . November 10, 2010, accessed November 15, 2010 .
  5. ↑ a b c Jürg Bischoff: Baghdad in bomb terror. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . November 3, 2010, accessed November 5, 2010 .
  6. ↑ a b About 60 dead in hostage drama in Baghdad church. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. November 1, 2010, accessed November 3, 2010 .
  7. ↑ a b c d e f K. El-Gawhary: Almost 60 people killed. In: the daily newspaper . November 1, 2010, accessed November 3, 2010 .
  8. ↑ a b c Fifty Christians die after being taken hostage in Baghdad. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . November 1, 2010, accessed November 2, 2010 .
  9. ↑ Security forces interrupt Iraqi television programs. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. November 2, 2010, accessed November 3, 2010 .
  10. ↑ Letters of confession from Iraq sow fear. In: Frankfurter Rundschau. November 3, 2010, accessed November 4, 2010 .
  11. ↑ France flies out those injured in the Baghdad hostage drama. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. November 8, 2010, accessed November 9, 2010 .
  12. ↑ Martin Gehlen: Syria's Corridor of Horror. In: The time . April 23, 2013, accessed April 24, 2013 .