2010 Baghdad church siege
| Baghdad church siege | |
|---|---|
| Part of Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011) | |
The cross of the Sayedat al-najat ("Our Lady of Salvation") Cathedral in Baghdad. | |
| Location | Karrada, Baghdad, Iraq |
| Date | 31 October 2010 17:00 – ~21:30 (UTC+4) |
| Target | Sayidat al-Nejat Cathedral |
Attack type | Siege; hostage-taking, suicide attacks |
| Weapons | Machine guns, car bomb, explosive belts, grenades |
| Deaths | Two priests; 39–44 worshippers; 7–12 police/security; 5 bystanders; all (perhaps six) jihadi attackers |
| Injured | 78 |
| Perpetrators | Islamic State of Iraq |
| Motive | Anti-Christian sentiment |
On 31 October 2010, six suicide bombers of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) militant group stormed into the Sayidat al-Nejat Cathedral (a Syriac Catholic church in Baghdad) during Sunday evening Mass, taking the congregants hostage. The ISI was a militant group which aimed to overthrow the Iraqi federal government and establish an Islamic state in Iraq.
Hours later, Iraqi commandos stormed the church. In the ensuing confrontation, fifty-eight worshippers, priests, policemen, and bystanders were killed and seventy-eight were wounded or maimed. World leaders and some Iraqi Sunni and Shi'ite imams condemned the massacre.
In late November 2010, Huthaifa al-Batawi, who was accused of masterminding the assault, was arrested along with eleven others in connection with the attack. During a failed attempt to escape in May 2011, Batawi and ten other senior ISI militants were killed by an Iraqi SWAT team. On 2 August 2011, three other men were sentenced to death and a fourth to 20 years in prison in connection with the massacre. In 2012, an appeals court confirmed the sentences.