Sad news from an AFP report today:
Orthodox priest murdered in downtown Baghdad
(Translated by Mornac)
Orthodox priest murdered in downtown Baghdad
BAGHDAD, April 5, 2008 (AFP) - An Orthodox Christian priest was killed by unknown assassins on Saturday in the heart of Baghdad according to Iraqi security sources.
Several unidentified armed men traveling in a car opened fire on the priest as he left his home in the central district of Karrada, said the sources who requested anonymity.
The priest died instantly. The incident took place around 12:00 local time (9:00 GMT) and the assailants escaped according to the same source.
The body of the victim was evacuated to the Ibn Nafis hospital, one of the main hospitals in the capital.
Adel Yousef was a priest of the Syriac Orthodox Church. He served in the parish of St. Peter in the district of Karrada.
The Christians of Iraq are regularly targets of violence, kidnappings, killings and church bombings committed by insurgents, Sunnis as well as Shiites. They are accused of supporting the "invading crusaders."
The Chaldeans, Eastern Rite Catholics, are one of the oldest Christian churches make up the main Christian community in the country.
The Chaldean archbishop of Mosul, Bishop Rahou Faraj, was abducted in late February by unknown assailants and his body was found in mid-March.
Two priests in the diocese of Mosul had been abducted and held for nine days in October 2007, and June 2007 a priest and three deacons were shot in front of a church in the same city, capital of the province of Nineveh, which has become a stronghold of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
The fate of two other members of the Chaldean Church who were abducted in Baghdad in August and November 2006, remains unknown.
In January, car bombings had targeted both the Chaldean cathedral and another Orthodox church in Kirkuk (northern Iraq) which resulted in no injuries but caused considerable damage to the property. In Mosul bomb attacks against Christian churches and buildings have yielded four wounded.
Prior to the invasion of March 2003, the Christian community in Iraq had approximately 800,000 members - about 3% of the population which has a large Muslim majority.
Since that time many members of this community have fled the country or migrated to Iraqi Kurdistan (north).
Several unidentified armed men traveling in a car opened fire on the priest as he left his home in the central district of Karrada, said the sources who requested anonymity.
The priest died instantly. The incident took place around 12:00 local time (9:00 GMT) and the assailants escaped according to the same source.
The body of the victim was evacuated to the Ibn Nafis hospital, one of the main hospitals in the capital.
Adel Yousef was a priest of the Syriac Orthodox Church. He served in the parish of St. Peter in the district of Karrada.
The Christians of Iraq are regularly targets of violence, kidnappings, killings and church bombings committed by insurgents, Sunnis as well as Shiites. They are accused of supporting the "invading crusaders."
The Chaldeans, Eastern Rite Catholics, are one of the oldest Christian churches make up the main Christian community in the country.
The Chaldean archbishop of Mosul, Bishop Rahou Faraj, was abducted in late February by unknown assailants and his body was found in mid-March.
Two priests in the diocese of Mosul had been abducted and held for nine days in October 2007, and June 2007 a priest and three deacons were shot in front of a church in the same city, capital of the province of Nineveh, which has become a stronghold of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
The fate of two other members of the Chaldean Church who were abducted in Baghdad in August and November 2006, remains unknown.
In January, car bombings had targeted both the Chaldean cathedral and another Orthodox church in Kirkuk (northern Iraq) which resulted in no injuries but caused considerable damage to the property. In Mosul bomb attacks against Christian churches and buildings have yielded four wounded.
Prior to the invasion of March 2003, the Christian community in Iraq had approximately 800,000 members - about 3% of the population which has a large Muslim majority.
Since that time many members of this community have fled the country or migrated to Iraqi Kurdistan (north).
(Translated by Mornac)
