Photo: AP
Children run past a painting of Mariam Al-Adra (Virgin Mary) inside the entrance of the Virgin Mary Coptic church in the al-Asafra area of the coastal city of Alexandria, Egypt (July 2010 file photo)
Christians in the Middle East are on alert after Islamist extremists called them "legitimate targets" days after a bloody siege of a Baghdad church. In Egypt, security has been stepped up around Christian sites as Islamists demand the release of two Coptic women who reportedly converted to Islam.
Al-Qaida in Iraq posted a internet statement saying "the killing sword will not be lifted" from the necks of Christians, in Iraq and across the region.
The speaker said his group will go after "your children" in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, adding there are hundreds of thousands of Christians and hundreds of churches on what he referred to as Islamic soil. He said they will be targeted if Christians do not submit to his group's demands.
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Al-Qaida Threatens Christians in Egypt, Elsewhere in Middle East
Photo: AP
Children run past a painting of Mariam Al-Adra (Virgin Mary) inside the entrance of the Virgin Mary Coptic church in the al-Asafra area of the coastal city of Alexandria, Egypt (July 2010 file photo)
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Al-Qaida in Iraq posted a internet statement saying "the killing sword will not be lifted" from the necks of Christians, in Iraq and across the region.
The speaker said his group will go after "your children" in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, adding there are hundreds of thousands of Christians and hundreds of churches on what he referred to as Islamic soil. He said they will be targeted if Christians do not submit to his group's demands.
Among the demands of the militants, which include al-Qaida in Iraq and its umbrella group, the Islamic State of Iraq, is the release of two Egyptian women some Muslims claim are being held against their will after converting to Islam.
The men who attacked the Our Lady of Salvation Church Sunday in Baghdad told Egyptian Coptic authorities they had 48 hours to let the women go.
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