Contact: Troy Newman, President, 316-841-1700; Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Policy Advisor, 316-516-3034; both with Operation Rescue, info@operationrescue.org  

WASHINGTON, July 24 /Christian Newswire/ -- Operation Rescue President Troy Newman will be part of a historic Christian prayer delegation to Iraq. The group of six men, led by the Christian Defense Coalition, has been officially welcomed by the Iraqi government and will be their guests in Baghdad.  They are scheduled to meet with the Iraqi Prime Minister and other officials.

The group is scheduled to leave for Iraq on Tuesday, July 24, 2007, and will spend a week praying for people of Iraq and seeking God's wisdom and guidance for the direction of Iraq during this critical time in the nation's history.

"Because we are a pro-life group, we are very concerned about the loss of life, both among the American troops endeavoring to bring stability to Iraq and to the innocent non-combatants that too often find themselves in harm's way," said Operation Rescue Senior Policy Advisor Cheryl Sullenger. "This is an amazing opportunity to cover this nation with much-needed prayer."

Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation.  Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America.  Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.