U.S. general not confident Mosul archbishop will be found alive

Published: 2008-03-06

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNS) -- A day after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered Iraqi forces to maximize attempts at releasing Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul, Iraq, a top U.S. general said he was not confident the archbishop would be found alive. Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling said March 5 Archbishop Rahho "could easily be killed and that would be really unfortunate," reported the British news agency Reuters. Hertling, commander of U.S. forces in northern Iraq, where Mosul is located, added that Iraqi special forces and U.S. forces were searching for the archbishop, who was kidnapped late Feb. 29 after he finished leading the Way of the Cross. He had just left the Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul and was in his car with his driver and two bodyguards when the kidnappers attacked. The three people who were traveling with him were killed. The kidnappers have communicated their demands, which reportedly include a $1 million ransom, according to Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic charity helping persecuted Christians. Hertling told Reuters he did not discount al-Qaida as being responsible for the attack and said he believed Archbishop Rahho was being held for ransom.

Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .