Pastor of Iraq's only radio station escapes death

Maher Fouad, Pastor of Iraq's only radio station which broadcasts to about 8 million people in and around Baghdad narrowly escaped death in a bomb blast.

He was reported to have been enquiring about repairs on a church bus, few minutes before the explosion in the garage. The explosion killed the garage owner and destroyed another car.

Although the windows of his bus were shattered by the explosion, Pastor Maher was not hurt and "praised the Lord for God's protection," a statement on his church's website said.

In an interview with Christian broadcasters network he said, despite countless death threats, he has no intention of leaving.

He further stated that "The situation here in Baghdad is not only bad, it is very bad, when ISIS occupied Ramadi, we became in danger because Ramadi is not very far away from Baghdad.

"When we started this project, it was a pioneering project," he said. "No one ever applied for a radio station in the history of Iraq, especially a Christian radio station."

In spite of this, "I pray publicly on our radio station so all the Iraqis will hear it." Pastor Maher said. "Not only Christians but also Muslims call us live on the air requesting that we pray for them."