Kirkuk, Jan. 9, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Three churches in Kirkuk, Iraq, were hit by car bombs on Wednesday afternoon, January 9, the AsiaNews service reports.

The bombings follow closely after a series of blasts at Catholic churches and Church-run institutions in Baghdad and Mosul on January 6. Following those Sunday attacks, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had issued a promise that the government would provide adequate protection for Christian institutions and would apprehend the Islamic terrorists who are presumed to be responsible for the intimidation campaign.

The attacks in Kirkuk came just one day after the prime minister offered that public guarantee. The bombs hit 2 Eastern Catholic churches; the third church struck by the car-bombing campaign has not yet been identified. The bombings were the first such attacks against Christians in Kirkuk, AsiaNews pointed out. The city's Christians had been living in peace, relatively unaffected by the threats of violence that have troubled the Christian minority elsewhere in Iraq.