Iraqi hostages freed from Church, 19 killed

Baghdad, Nov 1:Atleast 19 people were killed during a standoff between Islamic militants and US, Iraqi military on Nov 1 as Islamic militants held 120 Iraqi Christians hostages in a church in Iraq for nearly four hours.

Militans, who were reportedly al-Qaeda agents in Iraq, demanded the release of imprisoned female insurgents, stated the Iraqi officials.

According the officials, the standoff started when the militants attacked the Iraqi stock exchange near Baghdad's main Catholic places of worship on Oct 31.

However, Iraqi military rescued rest of the hostages from the church on Nov 1 after security forces stormed the building of the church.

OneIndia News