A three-kilometer stretch of Al Nidal Street in Baghdad was shelled Sunday, April 6, which is the street where the Seventh-day Adventist Church is located, according to media reports. There has been no confirmation as to which stretch of the road was shelled, or if the church was hit. For the past nine days all means of communication with Adventist church members in Iraq have been severed.

The Al Mansour district has also been shelled, according to Iraqi workers at the Middle East regional office in Nicosia, Cyprus. “This is a residential neighborhood where several Adventists are living,” says the spouse of an Iraqi worker at the office.

“Over the weekend I have been in regular contact with my Iraqi colleagues in Nicosia, but none of them have been able to verify if the service in the Adventist Church in Baghdad went ahead [on April 5] or whether the members have been injured or their properties damaged in any way,” says Alex Elmadjian, communication director for the region. “There is just very little accurate information that can be circulated at this stage.”

Michael Porter, president of the church for the Middle East region, reports that they are continuing to receive dozens of phone calls, e-mails and faxes from around the world. “Our world church family is pledging their prayer, support, expressing heartfelt sentiments and quoting powerful promises from scripture to encourage their brothers and sisters in Iraq,” he says.