At least 50 Iraqi Christian students are receiving hospital treatment following a bomb attack May 2 outside Mosul that killed at least one person and has forced nearly 1,000 students to drop classes for the rest of the semester.
Nearly 160 people were injured in the blasts targeting three buses full of Christians traveling to the University of Mosul for classes. The convoy of buses, which brings Christian students from villages east of Mosul, was making its daily route accompanied by two Iraqi army cars.
The explosions happened east of Mosul between two checkpoints. A roadside bomb followed by a car bomb reportedly exploded as the buses were clearing the second checkpoint in the area of Kokjaly.
The checkpoint was staffed by U.S., Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdish soldiers. The owner of a nearby car repair shop, Radeef Hashim Mahrook, was killed in one of the blasts as he tried to help the students, sources said. They said that lately there have been indications that Islamic extremists intend to increase attacks against Christians. (CD)
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