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| Khalid Mohammed / AP Iraqi security forces stand guard at St. Joseph's Chaldean church in Baghdad, Iraq, on Wednesday. Al-Qaida's front group in Iraq has threatened more attacks on Christians following a bloody siege at a Baghdad church that left scores of people dead, saying that the "killing sword will not be lifted" from their necks |
The Islamic State of Iraq, which has already claimed responsibility for Sunday's assault on a Catholic church Mass in downtown Baghdad, said its deadline for Egypt's Copts to release the women had expired.
As a result, the group said in a statement posted late Tuesday on militant websites, "All Christian centers, organizations and institutions, leaders and followers are legitimate targets for the muhajedeen (holy warriors) wherever they can reach them."
The conversion issue has become a rallying point for hard-line Islamists in Egypt. Egyptian Islamist protesters said the two women had converted to Islam, reportedly in an effort to leave their husbands since the church forbids divorce, and were being detained by the church. A priest denied the claim and said they were in monasteries for their safety.
The threat raised the prospect of violence against Christians across the Middle East, with the statement adding, "We will open upon them the doors of destruction and rivers of blood."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39987906/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/