Italy is airlifting 26 Iraqis injured in a militant attack on one of Baghdad's main Catholic churches to Rome for treatment.

The Foreign Ministry said it is acting on the request of the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

An Italian C130 cargo plane carrying the injured was due to land in Rome today.

Some 68 people were killed when militants stormed the Our Lady of Salvation Church on October 31 during Sunday Mass.

The militants shot people in the congregation, held others hostage and set off bombs when Iraqi forces came to the rescue.

The Vatican denounced the attack and others that have targeted Iraq's besieged Christian community.

The injured, accompanied by 21 family members, will be treated at Rome's Gemelli hospital.

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