Iraqi Christian minority cancelled Christmas celebrations in two cities in northern the country over fears of al-Qaida attacks, church officials told Xinhua on Thursday.
"The leaders of the Christian sects in Iraq have met two weeks ago and decided to cancel celebrations of the Christmas, except for prayers to God asking for peace and stability to prevail all over Iraq," Archbishop Louis Sako, chairman of the Chaldean archbishops in Kirkuk said.
"There will be no decorations, no receiving congratulations, no gifts and no Santa Claus, because of the attack that targeted the Lady of Deliverance in Baghdad and the followed series of killings against Christians in Mosul," Sako said.
He also said that his church will not hold prayers of the Christmas at the night of the event, but it would be during the daylight of next day on Dec. 25 for security reasons.
Sako urged the Christian worshippers to refrain from decorating their homes not to attract the gunmen.
The Christian minority have suffered from the murder of hundreds of its members due to chaos and insecurity that engulfed Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
The attacks against Iraqi Christians intensified after a hostage-taking attack by Islamic gunmen against Christian worshippers at a Baghdad church that killed 58 people and wounded some 75 others.
A day after the deadly attack, an al-Qaida affiliated militant group in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that Christians and their organizations have become "legitimate targets " for al-Qaida militants.
The self-styled Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), the al-Qaida front in Iraq, said in a statement posted on an Islamic website that it "declares all Christian centers, organizations and institutions, leaders and followers, are legitimate targets of Mujahdeen (holy Muslim warriors) wherever they can reach them."
The statement said that al-Qaida's threat came after the church of Egypt failed to release or clarify the status of women said to be converted to Islam and have been held captive in monasteries.
Late on Tuesday, ISI renewed its threats in a statement posted on internet against the Iraqi Christians.
Most of the around one million Iraqi Christian minority live in areas from Baghdad to the northern cities of the country, including Kirkuk and Mosul.
Many were killed in Baghdad during the sectarian strife between Shiite and Sunni communities, and others killed in northern Iraq where power is often divided between Arabs and Kurds.
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