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Agency says Iraqi Christians, targeted by fanatics, fleeing country

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Increasing violence against Christians in northern Iraq has alarmed church leaders and prompted thousands of Catholics to flee the country, the Vatican missionary news agency Fides reported. The latest episode was an attack early Oct. 5 against a Chaldean Catholic family in Nineveh, near Mosul, by a band of Islamic fanatics. The assailants entered the house shouting: "We've come to exterminate you. This is the end for you Christians!" Fides reported, citing an unnamed source in Iraq. The attackers left after a struggle, but they killed 10-year-old Majed Sako. The tragedy left the boy's parents in shock and the Christian community deeply apprehensive, the report said. The source cited by Fides said there were now dozens of attacks taking place against Christians in Iraq, but people were often too afraid to report them.

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