Thread by @aboskovitch

Thread: In 2011, Furat, 23, met with me in Iraq's capital to discuss his surviving the Oct 31, 2010 attack on Our Lady of Salvation Syriac Catholic Cathedral in Baghdad, Sayedat AlNajat سيدة النجاة.
"I would like the world to know what happened here," he said.
#PopeFrancisInIraq

Going back, Sun. Jan 29, 2006 was a bloody day for Christians in Iraq. Car bombs exploded in coordinated attacks on at least four churches in Baghdad & the northern city of Kirkuk within 20 minutes, as well as outside the Vatican mission in the capital, killing & wounding dozens.

"Aftr the 2006 attacks the govt. supplied army vehicles to secure churches on Sundays. Then they started bringing private security who weren't well trained," Furat said. "Just hours before the Sayedat AlNajat attack, I thought to myself how easy it would be to bomb the church."

"My father is at the church every Sunday for 6 pm Mass. My cousins were there & injured in the attack. They now have prosthetic limbs & went to France for more extensive treatments, where they stayed to live. My brother-in-law was also there."

"The attack lasted fr around 6 to 8 pm. There were 6 terrorists. They came in a new 4x4 GMC Bravado with guns, suicide belts & grenades that they threw in the doorway. It took two guys to carry one bag of weapons it was so heavy. They easily overpowered the security &broke in."

"One of the priests, Fr. Yousef was able to grab an ID from the pocket of an attacker & we saw he was Iraqi. The govt. blamed the attack on foreigners, but they were Iraqis. It was a full Mass with many people, but a priest was able to hide some in the back room of the church."

"They shot & killed so many that blood was flying everywhere & it covered my face. A pregnant woman was killed & she's buried today in the church crypt. When the Iraqi security forces finally came, the terrorists blew themselves up. They were lost souls, lost to the evil in Iraq"

"Aftr this, many Christians fr Baghdad moved to the villages near Mosul. Many families were like mine & originally from the city of Mosul & moved to Baghdad for work in infrastructure projects in the 90's. The Muslim families there know & watch out for us" #PopeFrancisInMosul

"Many of the families who survived the attack left Iraq. I don't want to leave but I can't live my life here. I love to walk around Baghdad, but I see people living in fear. In 2002 I walked safely & never thought like now that when a car passes me slowly, they might capture me."

On his upcoming trip to Iraq Mar 5-8, @Pontifex will visit Sayedat AlNajat & pray with the faithful. At the church's entry gate, he'll see a large banner with portraits of those killed in the attack, the priests & worshippers, on Oct. 31, 2010. ## END