Remembrance of 2010 Massacre at Baghdad’s Our Lady of Salvation Syriac Catholic Church

BAGHDAD — On 31 October, the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian community marked the annual remembrance of the tragic attack on the Syriac Catholic Church of Our Lady of Salvation in Baghdad, Iraq. The assault, carried out during Sunday Mass at 5:00 PM, was orchestrated by the Islamic State of Iraq, what is now the Islamic State (ISIS).

The attack claimed the lives of two priests who were leading worship with the congregation, while many Syriac Catholic parishioners were killed and injured. Hostilities between militants and Iraqi security forces continued until 10:00 PM, culminating in a church raid by security forces to rescue the remaining hostages and end the siege.

The massacre left 46 civilians dead, three attackers killed, and 160 others injured. Each year, the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian community honors this day as one of the darkest chapters in the lives of Christians in Iraq amid the country’s prolonged political turmoil.