Baptist missionaries killed in Iraq

-16/3/04

Four Baptist missionaries from the US have died after gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in the northe

Baptist missionaries killed in Iraq

-16/3/04

Four Baptist missionaries from the US have died after gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in the northern Iraqi town of Mosul.

Three were found dead at the scene of Monday’s attack, while one died later and another is still in hospital.

The victims – at least two of them women – were involved in relief work for a non-governmental agency.

Mosul is the location of the second biggest Christian community in Iraq and came under heavy bombardment during the recent invasion.

Before the war there were an estimated 100,000 Christians in the Northern No Fly Zone, half of whom were believed to be in the City of Mosul. The only other Iraqi city with more Christians is Baghdad.

The Christians come from a range of denominations, including catholic, the ancient churches and protestant/ evangelical.

The new attacks have raised fears that Iraqi militants are targeting foreign civilians.

Two US government workers and their Iraqi translator were killed last week.

Three of the victims of the drive-by shooting were identified by the Virginia-based Southern Baptist International Mission Board as Larry T. Elliott, 60, Jean Dover Elliott, 58, and Karen Denise Watson, 38.

The fourth dead victim will not be named until his or her family has been informed.

The group’s associates in the United States said they were on a humanitarian mission, scouting for a good location for a water purification project.

“They were there in a humanitarian situation. They were people who just had a great heart for helping people out,” said Larry Kingsley, a church deacon in Raleigh, North Carolina.

They were travelling in one car on the eastern side of Mosul when they were attacked.

An off-duty Iraqi policeman found the car, and took the two survivors to hospital, where US Army helicopters took them to military facilities.

Baptist missionaries killed in Iraq

-16/3/04

Four Baptist missionaries from the US have died after gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in the northern Iraqi town of Mosul.

Three were found dead at the scene of Monday’s attack, while one died later and another is still in hospital.

The victims – at least two of them women – were involved in relief work for a non-governmental agency.

Mosul is the location of the second biggest Christian community in Iraq and came under heavy bombardment during the recent invasion.

Before the war there were an estimated 100,000 Christians in the Northern No Fly Zone, half of whom were believed to be in the City of Mosul. The only other Iraqi city with more Christians is Baghdad.

The Christians come from a range of denominations, including catholic, the ancient churches and protestant/ evangelical.

The new attacks have raised fears that Iraqi militants are targeting foreign civilians.

Two US government workers and their Iraqi translator were killed last week.

Three of the victims of the drive-by shooting were identified by the Virginia-based Southern Baptist International Mission Board as Larry T. Elliott, 60, Jean Dover Elliott, 58, and Karen Denise Watson, 38.

The fourth dead victim will not be named until his or her family has been informed.

The group’s associates in the United States said they were on a humanitarian mission, scouting for a good location for a water purification project.

“They were there in a humanitarian situation. They were people who just had a great heart for helping people out,” said Larry Kingsley, a church deacon in Raleigh, North Carolina.

They were travelling in one car on the eastern side of Mosul when they were attacked.

An off-duty Iraqi policeman found the car, and took the two survivors to hospital, where US Army helicopters took them to military facilities.