Kidnapped Iraq cleric found dead

Paulos Faraj Rahho, the Chaldean Catholic archbishop who was kidnapped last month, was found dead yesterday, his body half-buried in an empty lot in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, police said. Mgr Rahho, the archbishop of Mosul, 390 kilometres north of Baghdad, was abducted on February 29 after gunmen attacked his car and killed his driver and two guards. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki blamed his death on al Qaeda and stressed that his Shi'ite Islamist-led government was committed to protecting Christians, who make up about three per cent of the population in mostly Muslim Iraq.

"The perpetrators of this horrible crime will not run from the hand of justice," Mr Maliki said.

Pope Benedict, who had made several appeals for the prelate's freedom, called Archbishop Rahho's death "an act of inhuman violence that offends the dignity of the human being" in a letter to Iraqi Church leaders.

Chaldeans belong to a branch of the Roman Catholic Church that practises an ancient Eastern rite and form the biggest Christian community in Iraq.

Police said it was not clear whether Mgr Rahho, 65, had been killed or died of other causes. He appeared to have been dead a week and had no bullet wounds, police at the morgue in Mosul said. He was dressed in black trousers and a blue shirt.