First they went for the Gays, now the Christians...

Sound familiar - but fortunately, the Jews have already left...

A series of bombings hit five Christian churches here on Sunday, killing at least four people, and the American ambassador to Iraq narrowly escaped injury when a roadside bomb struck his convoy in Nasiriya in southern Iraq.

While there have been attacks on foreign diplomats, including several killings, the bomb in Nasiriya was believed to be the first direct attack on a United States ambassador since the war began in 2003.

“There was a bang, and we went through a thick cloud of smoke,” the ambassador, Christopher R. Hill, told a reporter from USA Today who was traveling in a convoy behind him. “We are all fine.”

The bomb barely missed Mr. Hill’s armored sport utility vehicle and caused minor damage to another one, the newspaper reported.

No one claimed responsibility for the bombing, and it was not clear on Sunday night whether it was intended for Mr. Hill. Adding to a spate of sectarian violence since American combat troops withdrew from Iraqi cities less than two weeks ago, the new attacks raised doubts among many Iraqis about the ability of their own security forces to protect them.

Christians, a beleaguered minority in an overwhelmingly Muslim nation, have routinely faced sectarian attacks, forcing many to flee the country. The bombings on Sunday, though, appeared to be one of the largest single coordinated assaults against churches and Christians in Baghdad.