Bloodbath in Baghdad church leaves at least 41 dead

Militants believed to be associated with the Islamic State of Iraq, a fundamentalist group associated with Al-Qaida in Mesopotamia, attacked the Iraqi stock exchange yesterday then fled to a nearby church where they took nearly 100 hostages in what would become one of the worst bloodbaths in recent history. At least 52 hostages and Iraqi policemen were killed, many of whom died when a militant blew himself up. Five militants were also slain, and fifty people were wounded.

The gunmen had been demanding the release of al-Qaida prisoners. The Iraqi Ministry of the Interior says that eight men associated with the Islamic State of Iraq have been arrested.

The BBC’s Jim Muir reports live from Baghdad.