relief work in Iraq as news emerged of fresh attacks against coalition forces and a suicide bombing that killed at least five Iraqi civilians and an American soldier near the main United States headquarters in Baghdad.
International Aid said that despite the violence it will continue to help struggling Iraqi churches and Christians to reach out to the troubled Middle East nation.
"Our hope is that by our sending our support and our supplies through those churches, that those churches will be able to use our support to be able to reach their communities for Christ," said representative Myles Fish, in an interview with Mission Network News (MNN), a Christian broadcaster. The organization has set up four health clinics on the premises of four different Christian churches.
In addition World Vision reopened its offices in Iraq, after a temporary closure in April following a wave of kidnappings and murders of aid workers, MNN reported. "World Vision teams continue to offer relief services throughout the war-torn country. Operations have resumed to full strength in northern and western Iraq," MNN said.
It reported that World Vision teams are working "to represent the name and love of Jesus Christ through their efforts to meet both physical and spiritual needs in that war-torn country." Aidworkers told that they encountered "a hunger for the Gospel" among Muslims, despite possible persecution by family members or anti-Christian militants. The announcement by Christian organizations came as American forces reportedly tried to end Muslim extremism in the area by intensifying pressure on a radical Shi’ite cleric.
TANKS MOVE IN
Reporters said American tanks moved into an area of the town of Najaf, which they had not entered since clashes began there over a month ago with armed supporter of wanted cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who is holed up in the city. U.S. forces soon took control of the governor’s office, just a few hours after the American administrator Paul Bremer appointed a new governor for the Najaf region, the Voice of America (VOA) and the Cable News Network (CNN) said.
In Baghdad, American forces began to a suicide bombing after a car exploded as vehicles were lining up at a bridge that leads into the so-called Green Zone, where U.S. military and civilian headquarters are located. VOA quoted military officials as saying that a suicide bomber driving a taxi pulled up at the checkpoint leading into the Green Zone and blew himself up. People in the Iraqi capital reportedly said the blast could be heard throughout Baghdad and occurred at about 7:30 a.m. local time. .
Also, just north of Baghdad Thursday, two bombs reportedly destroyed the headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in the Iraqi city of Baquba and several people were wounded, VOA reported. The PUK is a political organization headed by Jalal Talabani, who is a member of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council.
EMBATTLED PRESIDENT
The latest attacks came about 12 hours after the increasingly embattled United States President George W. Bush appeared on two Arabic television stations – U.S. government sponsored AlHurra and Dubai-based Al-Arabiya – to discuss the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers, which has outraged Arabs and Americans.
"It’s very important for the people in the Middle East to realize that the troops we have overseas are decent, honorable citizens," president Bush said. "They care about freedom and peace. They are working daily in Iraq to improve the lives of Iraqi citizens. And, these actions of a few people do not reflect the nature of the men and women who serve in our country."
Although Bush sought to assure Arabs that the investigative process would be open, there remains wide spread anger in the Middle East and his approval rating took another beating in the United States. Some polls suggest he is now in a close presidential race with his Democratic challenger John Kerry.
