Recent bombings targeting churches in the cities of Baghdad and Mosul killed at least four people and injured approximately 30 others. On July 11, two bombs ripped through the St. Joseph church in western Baghdad at approximately 10:00 p.m. The next afternoon, three bombs exploded within 15 minutes of each other outside three different church buildings in Baghdad. That evening, a car bomb detonated outside a church building in the eastern region of the city. Only minutes later, another bomb exploded outside a church building in Baghdad's Dora district. On July 13, a car bomb detonated near Our Lady of Fatima Church in the city of Mosul.
Pray for those who have lost loved ones. Ask God to guard the hearts of Iraqi Christians against fear and enable them to continue serving Him with boldness. Pray that those responsible for these bombings will repent and come to know Christ as their Lord and Saviour.
To learn more about trials facing Christians in Iraq, go to the Iraq Country Report.
Current Ministry Project
By working with credible ministry partners, VOMC is providing persecuted Christian women sewing skills training so they can receive a sustainable source of income and thus adequately support their families. In addition, these women are able to seize the opportunities presented to them through their new businesses by serving as effective witnesses for Christ.
Ethnicity (%) Arab (75-80), Kurdish (15-20), Turkoman, Assyrian, and other (5)
Religion (%) Islam (95-98), Christianity (1), other (1-4)
Leader President Barham Salih (2018)
Government type Federal parliamentary republic Legal system Mixed legal system of civil and Islamic law
Source: CIA World Factbook
Pray for Iraq
Pray for the protection of the remaining believers in Iraq during this time of upheaval and danger. May many churches and Christian relief organizations seize the opportunity to provide greatly needed assistance and ministry to the numerous suffering people of this war-torn nation. As God’s work of healing, provision and restoration takes place, pray that a stable democratic government will be established.
Those caught evangelizing could face blasphemy charges. Photo: VOMC
A recent report from the American Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East highlights the desperate circumstances facing many Iraqi Christians – both those residing in their country as well as those living as refu
Some of the devastation from the conflict in Iraq. Photo: World Watch Monitor
On January 20th, four humanitarian aid workers from the French organization, SOS Chretiens d'Orient, went missing while in Baghdad. Details were limited, providing no information on those responsible nor the reasons behind
Some of the devastation from the conflict in Iraq. Photo: World Watch Monitor
On January 20th, four workers affiliated with the French organization, SOS Chretiens d'Orient, went missing while in Baghdad. Despite repeated attempts to contact them, no response has been received to date. At last report
Hundreds of Iraqi Christian families had recently returned to their hometown of Teleskuf, after being displaced for years due to attacks perpetrated by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group, only to be forced to flee their northern Iraq community all over again. These families hav
Population
