Catholic archbishop abducted in Mosul
Gunmen kidnapped a Chaldean Catholic archbishop and killed three of his guards Friday in the latest attack targeting Iraq’s dwindling Christian minority in this northern city.
The armed group intercepted Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho as he left the Church of the Holy Spirit after celebrating Mass, said Iraqi Brig. Gen. Khalid Abdul Sattar, a spokesman for Nineveh province security forces.
Chaldean Catholics, who recognize the authority of the Roman Catholic pontiff, are the largest group among Iraq’s small Christian community.
Pope Benedict XVI asked the church “to unite in fervent prayer so that reason and humanity prevail among the authors of the kidnapping, and that Msgr. Rahho is returned quickly to caring for his flock,” according to wire reports.
Islamic militants have repeatedly targeted Iraqi Christians, accusing them of being “crusaders” allied with the U.S. military. In some Baghdad neighborhoods, Christians were given the choice of converting to Islam, paying a tax or leaving. Many fled.
Violence in the capital has fallen significantly since the U.S. military completed a buildup of 28,500 additional troops last summer. But American officials say Mosul remains the last urban stronghold of the Sunni Arab militant group Al Qaeda in Iraq.
Iraqi government figures released Friday show an increase in the monthly civilian toll for the first time since August, with 633 killed nationwide in February compared with 466 the previous month.
But the toll provided by the Health Ministry was much lower than the 1,646 civilians reported killed in February 2007, when the troop buildup began.
Last month’s figure includes fatalities from a series of attacks on throngs of Shiite Muslim pilgrims heading to a major religious festival. An apparently coordinated double suicide bombing of Baghdad pet markets killed nearly 100 people.
At least 20 Iraqi soldiers and 65 policemen were also killed in February, said the ministries of Defense and Interior. The toll for U.S. forces was 29 deaths, according to the independent icasualties.org.
At least 235 insurgents were killed in the same period and 1,340 detained, according to Iraqi security forces.
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Special correspondent al-Zarary reported from Mosul and Times staff writer Zavis from Baghdad. A special correspondent in Baghdad contributed to this report.
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