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DE RUEHGB #0019/01 0040648
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000019 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2020 
TAGS: PTER PGOV PREL KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: NINEWA PRT: CHRISTIANS WARY ABOUT PERSISTENT 
ATTACKS 
 
BAGHDAD 00000019  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: PRT Ninewa Acting Leader Mark Schapiro for reasons 1.4 ( 
b, d). 
 
 ¶1. (U) This is a Ninewa Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) 
message. 
 
¶2. (C) SUMMARY:  Attacks on northern Iraq's Christian 
community in recent weeks, although comparatively 
unspectacular, have left the beleaguered minority population 
wary ahead of the national election.  Widespread Iraqi and 
Western media coverage of four attacks on Christian churches 
in Ninewa since November 26 masks the reality that these 
attacks were isolated and relatively unsophisticated. In an 
unrelated incident, a short burst of politicized violence 
between Christians and Shabaks in the ethnically-mixed town 
of Bartalla quickly ebbed after local officials appealed for 
the two minority populations to refrain from violence. 
Violence against Christians in Ninewa is likely to continue 
to simmer until the national election, as violent extremists 
choose to focus on a vulnerable non-Muslim minority 
well-covered by the media and viewed as having an exceptional 
relationship with the United States.  END SUMMARY. 
Unsophisticated and Unorganized, but Widely Reported 
¶3. (C) To date, the recent attacks against Christians appear 
to be isolated and relatively unsophisticated, yielding 
limited results beyond garnering media attention.  The 
current spate of attacks against Christians in Ninewa began 
with two simultaneous improvised explosive device (IED) 
attacks on Catholic churches in Mosul on November 26. Neither 
attack resulted in injuries, but one attack caused extensive 
damage to an unoccupied church in downtown Mosul.  Another 
IED attack targeting the exterior of a church in Mosul on 
December 15 resulted in minor casualties, while a multiple 
IED and vehicle borne IED (VBIED) attack targeting a busy 
traffic circle on the same day in Mosul resulted in some 
damage to a church and a Christian School.  Although the 
attack caused injuries to students and staff at the school, 
it appears terrorists were targeting first-responders who 
arrived to help with the original blast at the traffic 
circle, with the church and school serving as convenient 
secondary targets.  (Note: USF discovered and recovered two 
other IED's in the vicinity, also targeting first-responders 
to the first blast.  End Note.)  Separately, another pushcart 
IED on December 23 outside Mosul,s St. Thomas Church, 
substantially damaged in a previous attack over a year ago, 
resulted in at least one death and several injured civilians. 
 According to U.S. military sources, the explosives employed 
in the attacks were of relatively low quality, suggesting 
alack of sophistication. 
Shi'a and Christian Tempers FLASH 
¶4. (C) In an unrelated series of events, Christian and Shabak 
residents in the ethnically-mixed town of Bartalla, 
straddling the disputed Peshmerga boundary in eastern Ninewa, 
briefly took up arms against one another on December 25. 
(Note: Many Shabaks practice a variant of Shi'ism.  End 
note.)  In recent months, the two minority populations, 
already somewhat mistrustful of one another, found their 
relationship further strained when Shabak residents 
discovered some of their Ashura banners torn down near 
Bartalla's main church.  Rumor quickly attributed the 
defacing to local Christians, while prominent Bartalla 
Christian political leader George Kako told us on December 27 
that he believed the incident was provoked by Shabak leaders 
in order to demonstrate the weaknesses and shortcomings of 
Kurdish control.  As Shabak residents gathered in protest 
near the church in Bartalla, private Christian guards fired 
on the Shabak crowd.  The Shabak then returned fire. 
Qon the Shabak crowd.  The Shabak then returned fire. 
Peshmerga forces quickly arrived on the scene to stem the 
violence.  The same day, pleas by local Shabak and Christian 
leaders, and personal appearances by the Provincial Governor 
and the Commander of the Ninewa Operations Command appear to 
have calmed the populations, at least for the time being. 
The Governor to the Rescue 
¶5. (C) In the face of negative press reports of attacks on 
Christians in Ninewa and continuing attention on violence 
aimed at minorities in the province ahead of the national 
election, Governor Atheel al-Nujaifi immediately injected 
himself into the situation.  With a keen eye on the prospects 
of his al-Hadba Gathering in the national election, Nujaifi 
has pledged additional personnel and security measures to 
protect Ninewa's Christian community.  He also announced the 
formation of a special committee of inquiry to look into the 
events in Bartalla.  Kako told us that Bartalla had plenty of 
Iraqi Police and Army on the streets, both before and after 
the incident, although the numbers had increased in its 
aftermath.  For their part, Christian leaders in Mosul tell 
us they remain resilient but continue to feel the world does 
not appreciate their claim to be the "original" inhabitants 
of Ninewa. 
¶6. (C) COMMENT:  Attacks against Christians in Ninewa have 
thus far suggested an unsophisticated enemy, but U.S. 
military reporting underscores the intention of known violent 
extremists in the province to continue targeting the 
 
BAGHDAD 00000019  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
beleaguered Christian community to  sow further mistrust in 
advance of the national election.  The Christians of Ninewa, 
comprising Assyrians and Chaldeans, continue to look to the 
U.S. to provide better security and economic opportunity for 
their communities.   Until the election, widespread media 
coverage of attacks on Christians and the continued 
perception of the Christian community,s exceptional 
relationship with the United States will continue to make 
them an appealing target in northern Iraq.  End comment. 
FORD