Iraq Christians 'legitimate targets'

Al Qaida’s front group in Iraq today threatened more attacks on Christians after a bloody siege on a Baghdad church earlier this week.

The Islamic State of Iraq said in a statement that Christians are “legitimate targets” and that the “killing sword will not be lifted from ... their necks”.

The statement comes after 58 people were killed in a siege on Sunday night when militants took 120 people hostage in a Catholic church.

The militants had been demanding the release of Muslim women they claimed were being held by the Coptic Christian church in Egypt.

The insurgent group said its deadline for the women’s release had passed and that Christians are now legitimate targets wherever they can be hit.