Iraq: Catholic Family Man Murdered

Editor: Catholics were in Iraq long before the Muslims. Don't forget that, at least.

Kirkuk (www.kath.net/ idea) In Northern Iraq a 29 year old Christian was murdered.  The body of the family father with three children Ashur Issa Yaqub was found on May 16th by Police in Kirkuk.  As the aid organization Open Doors (Kelkheim bei Frankfurt am Main) reported, his body revealed signs of torture and bite wounds. Hands and arms were tied and the head had been completely removed.

According to reports of a local pastor, members of the terror network Al Kheda pressured his employer to dismiss the construction worker \because he was Christian.  Yaqub, who belongs to the Chaldean Catholic Community, was abducted.  Al Kaida fighters demanded a ransom of about 70.000 Euro for his release.  According to estimate by Open Doors, which cares for Christians persecuted and oppressed world wide, the situation in Iraq has significantly worsened.

Christians have lived almost 2.000 years in Iraq.  In the mean time their numbers have been decimated because many of the attacks of Islamic "extremists" happen to them.  1990 figures show that around 29 million inhabitants and 1,4 million Christians were present, now there are about 200.000.

Original, kath.net...