US forces free four Egyptians arrested in Baghdad church

BAGHDAD (AFP) - US forces released four out of five Egyptian Coptic Christians arrested last month in a Baghdad church, one of them said.

"The American forces freed me and three others, they are still holding the fifth for reasons we don't know," deacon Medhat Faez told AFP.

He said US forces carried out the arrests on July 19 after they found five machine guns in the church. He said the weapons were kept there for self-defense because thieves had entered into the church 15 times.

The 39-year-old deacon charged that the US soldiers "broke all doors open" in their search, turning down his offer to use the keys. He also accused the soldiers of confiscating money and passports found in the church.

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