Iraqi Christians mourn after church siege kills 58

After the gunmen killed the priest and nearly everyone in the first row, an eerie quiet descended over the pews. The only occasional sounds were sporadic gunfire, the muffled cries of the hostages and the shouts of Islamic militants–sometimes over their cell phones. Suddenly the lights went out. Iraqi forces began entering the building, telling parishioners: "We will save you." Then a shattering blast shook the church as a suicide bomber set off his explosives. By the time the siege of Our Lady of Salvation church was over Sunday night, 58 people were dead and 78 wounded–nearly everyone inside the building. The attack, claimed by an al-Qaida-linked organization, was the deadliest recorded against Iraq's Christians since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion unleashed a wave of violence against them. The scope of the slaughter only became clear on Monday after a long night of confusion and conflicting reports. Iraqi officials had initially provided a much lower death toll.