BAGHDAD -- New violence against Christians in the northern city of Mosul has sparked an outcry from Iraq's religious minority. In the past week, local officials said, many Christian families have fled the city after coming under attack from Sunni Arab militants.

Christians have been targeted along with other sects and ethnic groups since 2003. More than 900 Christian families have fled Mosul in the past week, said Jawdat Ismail, director of the Ministry of Displacement and Migration in Nineveh province.

Iraq's Defense Ministry was more cautious about the displacements. Mohammed Askari, a ministry spokesman, told the U.S.-funded Al Hurra satellite TV news channel that the ministry believes that Christian families had left the city.

Nineveh, whose capital is Mosul, has been a front line in the conflict between Kurds and Arabs over northern Iraq's future boundaries. The tensions have helped fuel violence that has targeted Christians, along with members of other ethnic and religious groups, including Kurds, Shabaks and Yazidis. Sunni Arabs have also been targeted.

Meeting with Christian politicians Sunday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite Muslim, promised protection for the embattled community.

Additional army and national police units were being stationed in Mosul, government spokesman Ali Dabbagh said in a statement. At times, Christian leaders have blamed Sunni Arabs and Kurds alike for the bloodshed.

Mosul was rocked by a car bomb Sunday that targeted a passing U.S. military convoy. The blast killed five Iraqis, a police official said. Another car bomb exploded 15 miles west of the city, killing two policemen, the official said.

The violence against Christians coincides with a debate in Baghdad over whether minority groups should be guaranteed seats on Iraq's provincial councils after an election law was approved in late September that failed to reserve them any positions on the local panels. The elections are expected to be held before the end of January.

By Ned ParkerLos Angeles Times