Iraq TV station taken off air after deadly church raid

Throughout Monday mourners carried coffins from the church, loading them on to vehicles bound for the morgue ahead of funerals on Tuesday.

Raed Hadi, who tied the coffin of his cousin to the roof of a car, said the raid had resulted in a “massacre”.

“We Christians don’t have enough protection,” he said. “What shall I do now? Leave and ask for asylum?”

The gunmen had reportedly demanded the release of jailed al-Qaeda militants.

A statement was posted on a militant website allegedly run by the Islamic State of Iraq, a Sunni militant umbrella group to which al-Qaeda in Iraq belongs, claiming responsibility for the attack.

The statement reportedly said Iraqi Christians would be “exterminated” if Muslim women in Egypt were not freed. It specifically mentioned two women in Egypt who radicals believe are being held against their will after converting to Islam.

Iraqi Defence Minister Abdul-Qadr al-Obeidi said security forces approached the building at ground level and from the air.

“We took a decision to launch a land offensive, and in addition an airdrop, because it was impossible to wait – the terrorists were planning to kill a large number of our brothers, the Christians who were at Mass,” said Mr Obeidi.

“So the operation was successfully done. All terrorists were killed. And we now have other suspects in detention.”

Witnesses say they saw US troops on the ground and US military helicopters hovering above the scene, but the extent of their involvement is not yet clear.

Younadim Kanna, a Christian Iraqi MP, said the government had failed to protect its citizens, but added that the Christian community would not be intimidated by violence.

“Despite all of these terrorist attacks against the Christians, we are determined not to leave our country,” he said.