Iraq's Shiite spiritual leader on Monday condemned bomb attacks against churches that killed at least 11 people and called for national unity to quash the violence.
"In the criminal campaign targeting Iraq's unity, stability and independence, a number of churches were targeted in Baghdad and Mosul that resulted in scores of innocent casualties," said a statement from the office of grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
"We denounce and condemn those terrible crimes...we should all be working together as a government and a people in order to put an end to the attacks against Iraqis," it added.
"We stress the need to respect the rights of Christians in Iraq and those of other religious faiths and their right to live in their home, Iraq, peacefully."
Meanwhile, U.S. occupation troops on Monday detained a prominent member of an influential Sunni group suspected to maintain links to resistance fighters, officials of the group said.
Dr. Muthanna Harith al-Dhari, information director for The Association of Muslim Scholars, was detained along with two of his guards, said Hassan Jumaa, an official in the group's information office.
According to The AP, Al-Dhari was returning home when he was nabbed by U.S. troops just after midnight.
"Eight Humvees were waiting for him," Jumaa said, adding that troops searched al-Dhari's vehicle and another car escorting him for over two hours before taking him and away. (albawaba.com)
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