700 Syrians ‘Beheaded, Crucified’ By Islamic State

Andrew White, known as the vicar of Baghdad, said yesterday that he had baptized a family of five, as Islamic State
(IS) militants circle ever closer to Iraq’s capital.

In an update on Facebook, Canon White said, “despite the tragedy all around us we are so aware of the presence a glory of G-d [sic].

“We had a great joyful event today as I baptized a mother and her four young children. What a joy it was when the
10-year-old came up to me after the Baptism and said ‘I feel all new now I am all different’ and he was.”

Canon White told Anglican News Service that “people really wanted to demonstrate their faith,” despite the danger of doing so. “It was lovely baptizing them and the children were so excited…In the midst of such a desperate situation it was wonderful to have something which was so nice.”

Reports stating the current location of IS militants as they close in on Baghdad have varied over the past few days. The BBC’s Lyse Doucet reported on Monday that members of the terrorist group were less than 10km away from the city in the early hours of the morning.

The Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East then reported at around am GMT that IS militants were “less than 2km away from entering Baghdad.”