Christchurch mosque imam expects thousands for Friday prayers

An imam says he’s expecting thousands of people at an emotional Friday prayer service a week after an attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Two more funerals were being held Thursday for the 50 people killed last Friday.

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Iman Gamal Fouda says he’s been discussing plans for the prayer with city officials and lawmakers and expects it will take place in a park across from Al Noor mosque, where at least 42 were killed.

Fouda expects 3,000 to 4,000 people, including many from abroad. He said members of the Linwood mosque, where the gunman killed seven people, also would attend the joint prayer.

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He says mosque workers have been feverishly working to repair the destruction from the attack. They will bury the blood-soaked carpet.