Details emerge of militant attack on Iraqi Christians

BAGHDAD - After the gunmen killed the priest and nearly everyone in the first row, an eerie quiet descended over the pews.

The only sounds were sporadic gunfire, the muffled cries of the hostages and the shouts of Islamic militants - sometimes over their cell phones.

Suddenly the lights went out. Iraqi forces began entering the building, telling parishioners: "We will save you." Then a shattering blast shook the church as a suicide bomber set off his explosives. By the time the siege of Our Lady of Salvation church was over Sunday night, 58 people were dead and 78 wounded - nearly everyone inside the building.

The attack, claimed by an al-Qaida-linked organization, was the deadliest recorded against Iraq's Christians since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion unleashed a wave of violence against them.

The scope of the slaughter only became clear yesterday after a long night of confusion and conflicting reports.

Pope Benedict XVI denounced the militants' assault as "ferocious," the White House condemned it as "senseless" and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said it harkened back to the days of sectarian warfare between Muslim sects.

The violence began around 5:30 p.m. Sunday in what an Iraqi security official said appeared to be a suicide mission. The gunmen drove a black Jeep Cherokee to the church and blew it up. Seven or eight militants then charged through the front doors, interrupting the Mass, brandishing their machine guns and spraying the room with bullets.

They ordered the priest to call the Vatican to demand the release of Muslim women they claimed were being held captive by the Coptic church in Egypt. When the priest said he could not do that, the gunmen shot him and turned their guns on the congregation, killing most of those in the front pew.