2 Iraqi towns cancel Christmas festivities

By REBECCA SANTANA

The Associated Press

BAGHDAD — Church officials in Iraq say they have canceled some Christmas festivities in two northern cities over fears of insurgent attacks.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki, left, arrives to attend the Iraqi parliament session in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Dec. 20, 2010. The Iraqi prime minister's long-awaited announcement of his new government, which had been expected on Monday, will likely be delayed again over disputes between parties on how to distribute the posts. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki speaks at a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Dec. 20, 2010. Iraq's parliament speaker says Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has submitted a list of his new Cabinet and is ready to seat a government more than nine months after inconclusive elections. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

FILE - In this March 26, 2010 file photo, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki speaks to the press in Baghdad, Iraq. Al-Maliki, 60, was first installed as prime minister as a compromise candidate in 2006 but barely hung onto the job this year when his political coalition fell short of winning the most seats in national elections. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki overcame last-minute bickering within his fragile coalition Monday Dec. 20, 2010 and submitted a list of his new Cabinet, possibly clearing the final hurdle to seating a government more than nine months after national elections. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)

Parliament speaker Osama al-Nujeifi, center, sits between Deputy Speakers Qusay al-Suhail, left, and Aref Taifour during the parliament session for approval for the new government in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010. Iraqi lawmakers unanimously approved on Tuesday a new government to be headed by incumbent Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, ending nine months of political deadlock that threatened to stall economic development and suck the country back into sectarian violence. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

The Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Kirkuk, Louis Sako, says church officials will not put up Christmas decorations outside the church and urged worshippers to refrain from decorating homes.

He says the traditional Santa Claus appearance outside one of the city's churches has also been called off.

In Mosul, Syrian Orthodox priest Faiz Wadee says Christmas celebrations there have also been canceled.

Christians across Iraq have been living in fear following a Baghdad church attack in October that left 68 people dead.

An al-Qaida front group in Iraq threatened more attacks against Iraq's Christians in a statement Wednesday.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Al-Qaida's front group in Iraq is threatening more attacks against the country's Christians unless two women it claims Egypt's Coptic Church is holding captive are released.

The Islamic State of Iraq issued the warning in a message posted late Tuesday on a website frequented by Islamist extremists.

The group has made similar threats in the past linked to claims of Egypt's Muslim extremists that the country's Coptic Church is holding women captive for converting to Islam. The church denies the allegations.

The message was addressed to Iraq's Christian community to "pressure" Egypt.

The Islamic State of Iraq was behind a recent series of attacks, including the siege of a Baghdad church that left 68 people dead. Some 1,000 Christian families have fled Iraq since then, according to the U.N.

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December 22, 2010 06:34 AM EST