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| Christians targeted by Baghdad bomb | Christians targeted by Baghdad bomb |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A car bomb near a church in Baghdad has killed at least 15 people as Iraqi Christians celebrated Christmas, officials say. | |
| The device went off in the Dora district of the city as worshippers left a Christmas Day service. | |
| At least 28 people were wounded, reports said. Police said most of the victims were Christians. | At least 28 people were wounded, reports said. Police said most of the victims were Christians. |
| Iraq's ancient Christian community has more than halved in recent years, from an estimated population of 900,000. | |
| Churches have been targeted across the country since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. | |
| An attack by gunmen in 2010 on the Catholic Cathedral in Baghdad left more than 50 people dead. | |
| A surge in sectarian violence this year has claimed the lives of more than 6,000 civilians in Iraq, the highest annual number of fatalities since 2008. | |
| Most of the attacks have targeted Shia civilians and the smaller Sunni population. | |
| The bloodshed escalated in April, after the army raided a Sunni anti-government protest camp. | |
| But the conflict in Syria has prompted a spike in attacks, many involving al-Qaeda in Iraq. | |
| Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told the BBC on Sunday that the Syrian crisis was "feeding terrorism in the region". |