Al Qaeda in Iraq Threatens Attacks on Christians

BAGHDAD -- Al Qaeda's front group in Iraq has threatened more attacks on Christians following a bloody siege at a Baghdad church that left 58 people dead, saying that the "killing sword will not be lifted" from their necks.

The Islamic State of Iraq's warning of further violence against Christians comes two days after the group's assault on a Catholic church in downtown Baghdad -- the deadliest attack ever recorded against Iraq's Christians, whose numbers have plummeted since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion as the community has fled to other countries.

"We will open upon them the doors of destruction and rivers of blood," the insurgent group said in a statement posted late Tuesday on militant websites.

The Islamic State of Iraq, which is an umbrella group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq and other allied Sunni insurgent factions, also said that its deadline for the Coptic Christian Church in Egypt to release Muslim women that the militant group claims are being held captive has expired.

As a result, "all Christian centers, organizations and institutions, leaders and followers, are legitimate targets for the muhajedeen (holy warriors) wherever they can reach them," the group said. The statement did not specify any one location, raising the specter of violence against Christians across the region.

The release of the women in Egypt was one of the militants' demands during Sunday night's siege, along with the release of Al Qaeda-linked prisoners held in Iraq.

The Baghdad church siege horrified Iraq's Christian community, hundreds of whom gathered Tuesday for a memorial service in Baghdad. One of the officials read a letter from Pope Benedict XVI to the crowd.

"For years the violence hasn't stopped hitting this country, and Christians are becoming the target of these cruel terrorist attacks," the letter read.

While Christians were the target Sunday night, Shiites bore the brunt of a string of 13 attacks on Tuesday that struck neighborhoods across the capital.

On Wednesday, the death toll in that violence climbed to 91 people, according to Iraqi police and hospital officials. No break down of the new death toll was immediately available.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.

Tuesday's attacks evoked painful memories of the bloody sectarian war Iraq's Sunni and Shiite militias fought in 2006 and 2007, killing tens of thousands of innocent civilians.

They were designed to hit civilians at restaurants and cafes where many Iraqis were gathered to enjoy the warm evening. The violence demonstrated the insurgents' ability to carry out coordinated attacks from one side of Baghdad to the other despite a network of police and army checkpoints and blast walls crisscrossing the capital.

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Hurricane Tomas Wreaks Havoc, Threatens Haiti

CASTRIES, St. Lucia -- Newly born Hurricane Tomas swept through a cluster of eastern Caribbean islands Saturday, tearing off roofs, damaging houses and downing power lines.

Authorites in St. Vincent were trying to confirm reports that three people died, including two men who might have been blown off a roof, said Jimmy Prince, emergency management spokesman.

Fierce winds tore roofs from nearly 100 homes and more than 400 people sought emergency shelter as the island plunged into darkness, he said.

"Many of them are workers who were unable to get off Mustique," he said, referring to a tiny island just south of St. Vincent.

In St. Lucia, winds also ripped off the roof of a hospital, a school, a stadium and toppled a large concrete cross from the roof of a century-old church, government officials said.

Heavy rains also unleashed a landslide that blocked a main highway linking the capital to the island's southern region.

Prime Minister Stephenson King said he was still stranded in Barbados on an official trip and apologized to people on an island that reported a complete blackout.

"It hurts me to know that I am not around to give courage, strength and guidance at a time when we all must bond together and give support to each other," he said in a statement.

The government ordered two airports and all businesses closed and people called radio stations to admonish parents who were letting children play in the streets, where trees and power lines were falling.

"This is no joke," said calypso singer Nintus, one of the callers.

Organizers of the island's biggest Creole festival called off the event due to the storm, disappointing both would-be revelers and dozens of vendors who traveled to the capital to sell vegetables, fruits and other provisions.

"All my preparations have gone down the drain," said vendor Theckla Darius, from the rural community of Fond Assau. "It's been a lot of effort for nothing."

Also under hurricane warning were St. Vincent and Martinique, where at least 20,000 people were without power, streets flooded and tree branches were down. A cruise ship carrying nearly 2,000 tourists docked instead in Dominica.

Tomas had already knocked down power lines and damaged houses in Barbados as a tropical storm.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Tomas strengthened Saturday night with 90 mph (150 kph) winds and was centered about 50 miles (85 kilometers) west-southwest of St. Lucia. It was moving west-northwest at 9 mph (15 kph).

Tomas, the Atlantic season's 12th hurricane, was expected to drop up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain in the region.

Forecasters said it could become a Category 2 storm Monday evening and possibly reach Category 3 by midweek, with winds around 115 mph (184 kph).

It was forecast to head toward Jamaica and could unleash heavy rains in southern portions of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, which is struggling to recover from a devastating earthquake and cope with a recent cholera outbreak.

Haiti issued an orange storm alert, the second highest level. Authorities warned southern and western regions -- including the quake-ravaged capital of Port-au-Prince, where an estimated 1.3 million people are living in tent camps -- to be on guard for high winds, thunderstorms and possible flooding.

But with few usable storm shelters and no feasible evacuation plan, residents will largely be on their own.

Tropical storm warnings were issued for Dominica, Tobago and Grenada, where the airport closed and gas stations sold out of fuel.

Another tropical storm, Shary, headed into the open Atlantic after missing Bermuda.

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Cat. 2 Paula roars off Cancun, threatens Cuba

CANCUN, Mexico –  Hurricane Paula roared off Mexico's top vacation resort of Cancun on Wednesday without immediate reports of major damage, and it was projected to veer into western Cuba's cigar-producting country.

The Category 2 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (160 kph), swiped at the island of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres overnight during its northward trek. Late Wednesday morning, the storm was centered about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southeast of Cabo Catoche on the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Paula was expected to shift to the northeast and weaken slightly on a course that would carry it into western Cuba by Wednesday night or early Thursday. The center said a tropical storm watch has been issued along a swath through the Florida Keys.

Cuba's Civil Defense warned the population in Pinar del Rio and Isla de la Juventud to watch out for heavy rains and flooding.

There were no immediate reports of major problems in Cancun or other resort areas. Quintana Roo state officials said they could guarantee the security of all 27,000 tourists currently in the state during the October off-season.

"We can declare the coasts completely out of danger," Quintana Roo Gov. Felix Gonzalez said. "The hurricane is leaving, and we can lift the red alert."

He said some 1,500 islanders evacuated from Isla Holbox would return home Wednesday along with 60 fishermen from Isla Contoy. Transportation resumed to Cozumel, where there were about 1,800 tourists, after being suspended overnight.

Quintana Roo state prosecutors said a U.S. man drowned when he went swimming in heavy surf near his hotel. Mickey Goodwin, a 54-year-old Texas resident, ignored warnings and red flags alerting to dangerous waters, authorities said in a statement.

In Cancun, more than 20 domestic and international flights had been canceled.

Dozens of boat owners in Cancun had hauled yachts and other vessels to shore, while sea tour operators canceled reservations. Along Cancun's popular strip of night clubs and discotheques, workers took down billboards and other large objects ahead of heavy winds.

Early Tuesday, heavy rains and high winds destroyed 19 homes in northeastern Honduras, said Lisandro Rosales, head of Honduras' emergency agency. Officials closed schools along the country's Atlantic coast and some airports were reported closed.

As of 11 a.m. EDT, Paula was centered about 65 miles (105 kilometers) west-southwest of the western tip of Cuba and that island nation was expected to feel tropical-storm-force winds by the afternoon, the hurricane center in Miami said.

Paula earlier drenched Honduras, northern Belize, eastern portions of the Yucatan Peninsula and was expected to bring 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 centimeters) of rains to western and central Cuba.

Forecasters warned of possible flooding and landslides and suggested residents avoid fishing trips or water sports.

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