Iraq blast kills 8, injures more than 50

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Iraq blast kills 8, injures more than 50

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14 July,2009 12:08 am

A car bomb exploded near a church as worshipers left Sunday Mass, killing at least 8 civilians and injuring many in one of several attacks on Iraqs beleaguered Christian minority.The coordinated assault came as the Iraqi military predicted that insurgent attacks, though declining, could continue for a few years, raising the prospect of militant violence after the scheduled withdrawal of all U.S. troops by the end of 2011.Three Christians one Muslim, and four security personell died in the bombing at around 7 p.m. near a church on Palestine Street in eastern Baghdad, said a police officer who was at the scene. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.While violence has diminished since 2007, insurgents exact a steady toll with bombs and targeted killings that would amount to a crisis in most other countries.