The World Council of Churches' general secretary, the Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, has joined Pope Benedict XVI and other religious leaders in condemning the "criminal act of terror" in Baghdad when gunmen took hostages in a city church, resulting in the deaths of nearly 60 people.

"The World Council of Churches strongly condemns the criminal act of terror that took place on Sunday in the Sayyidat al-Najat Church in Baghdad and expresses its deep sympathy and solidarity with those who lost their loved ones and prays for a speedy recovery for the injured," said Mr Tveit in a 1 November statement. 

Earlier, in an address to mark All Saints Day, the Pope told pilgrims in St Peter's Square, "I pray for the victims of this absurd violence, all the more ferocious in that it struck defenceless people united in the house of God, which is a place of love and reconciliation."

• Survivors speak of taunts, killings and explosions