In Iraq, fifty-two hostages and police officers were killed on Sunday when security forces raided a Baghdad church to free more than 100 Iraqi Catholics held by militants. Another sixty-seven people were wounded in the rescue effort. The attackers seized the church during a mass ceremony on Sunday. Officials said the gunmen threatened to kill the 120 hostages unless al-Qaeda prisoners in Iraq and Egypt were freed. A prominent Christian Iraq lawmaker denounced how the Iraqi security forces handled the crisis. Iraqi parliamentarian Younadam Kana said, “Because of their lack of professionalism and the hasty action taken by security forces in freeing the hostages, many innocent people were killed.”