The body of a kidnapped Chaldean Catholic archbishop was found in northern Iraq on Thursday, sparking outrage from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and an expression of deep sadness from Pope Benedict XVI.
"Yes, we found his body," Iraqi interior ministry spokesman Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf told AFP.
A report from Rome had said the body of Mosul Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho, who was kidnapped on February 29, was found in a grave near the city after the kidnappers telephoned the auxiliary archbishop of Baghdad, Shlemon Warduni.
Rahho, 65, was kidnapped after a shootout in which three of his companions were killed.
The Italian Roman Catholic Church's SIR news agency, quoting Warduni, said the kidnappers had telephoned to say that Rahho, who was in poor health, had died and that they had buried him.
"The kidnappers had told us already (Wednesday) that Monsignor Rahho was very ill, and yesterday afternoon they told us that he died. This morning, they telephoned us to say they had buried him," Warduni said, adding that the kidnappers indicated the location of the body.
"We still don't know whether he died from his poor health or was killed," Warduni said. "The kidnappers only told us that he was dead."
Raban al-Qas, the head of the Chaldean church in Iraq's northern Kurdish region, said there was no trace of any bullet wounds in Rahho's body.
However, it had not yet been determined whether the archbishop had been tortured to death, he said.
"There is no trace of any bullets in his body but the important thing is that he died as a result of the kidnapping," Qas told AFP.
"He is an old man and they put him in the car trunk. We don't know if he was tortured to death or died from natural causes."
Pope Benedict XVI reacted with "deep sadness" to the news of Rahho's death, a Vatican spokesman said.
"The most absurd and unjustified violence continues to afflict the Iraqi people and in particular the small Christian community whom the pope ... holds in his prayers ... in this time of deep sadness," Father Federico Lombardi said.
"This tragic event underscored once more and with more urgency the duty of all, and in particular of the international community, to bring peace to a country that has been so tormented," Lombardi said.
Prime Minister Maliki blamed "terrorist criminals" for what he said was a "killing," while the UN special envoy in Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, described it as a "murder ... committed in cold blood."
"We received with deep sorrow and sadness news of the killing of the archbishop by criminal terrorist gangs," Maliki said in a statement.
"We consider it as an attack aimed at provoking strife between Iraq's communities. We share the sorrow and renew our support for the Christian community in Iraq. We stress that those who committed this brutal act will not escape justice."
De Mistura also spoke of killing, saying it was "especially abhorrent, committed in cold blood against a man who has dedicated his entire life to the pursuit of peace, non-violence and reconciliation between different faiths and groups."
The Muslim Scholars Association, a powerful Sunni religious group, condemned the death and described it as "a crime intending to divide Iraqis and tear apart their social fabric."
"The Christian religion is part of the Iraqi people's faith. Christians have rights as everyone else," a statement said.
Salah al-Obeidi, senior aide of powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in the central city of Najaf, too came out against those behind the kidnapping.
"We condemn this criminal act which has no relation with Islam. We offer our deepest condolences to our Christian brothers," he told AFP.
The funeral was expected to be held in Mosul on Friday.
Rahho was the latest in a long line of Chaldean clerics to be abducted since the US-led invasion five years ago.
Two priests were kidnapped in the city in October, and last June a priest and three deacons were attacked in front of their church.
Iraq's Christians, with the Chaldean sect by far the largest community, were said to number as many as 800,000 before the invasion.
