CNN reports:
A Christian archbishop kidnapped in northern Iraq last month has been found dead, according to a Nineveh province official.
Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paul Faraj Rahho’s body was found Thursday near the town of Mosul, where he and three companions were ambushed by gunmen on February 29.
The kidnapping had been condemned by the Vatican, Jordan’s Prince Hassan, and the United Nations, among others. The archbishop was abducted during a push by Iraqi and U.S. troops against al Qaeda in Iraq insurgents in Mosul.
Christians are a tiny fraction of Iraq’s population, but insurgents have targeted their religious sites and leaders in recent years.
Chaldean is a form of Aramaic, spoken at the time of Jesus. The Chaldeans converted to Christianity in the first century A.D., and the Chaldean branch of Christianity has been in Iraq since then. It is part of the Roman Catholic Church.