MOSUL, Iraq --
Relatives of a beheaded Iraqi priest said his captors had demanded a church
apology for recent papal comments about Islam.
They said the Orthodox priest was abducted Sunday by an unidentified
group, which demanded a ransom. The kidnappers also wanted the priest's church
to condemn controversial recent remarks by Pope Benedict. In a speech last
month, the pope quoted a medieval text describing Islam as a religion spread by
the sword.
The relatives said the priest's church had already posted signs
condemning the pope's statement. A similar message was posted again after the
abduction.
The
priest's son had apparently been talking with the kidnappers by phone, and had
agreed to pay a $40,000 ransom. But contact abruptly ceased Tuesday night. The
priest's decapitated body was found Wednesday in the northern Iraq city of
Mosul.
Since the start of the Muslim holy month, U.S. officials in Baghdad said
the number of attacks there is up by 15 percent.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said Ramadan "historically" brings more
violence. And Caldwell warned that the military is assuming "it will still get
worse before it gets better." He's anticipating a continued increase in violence
over the next two weeks, until the holy month ends.
That's reflected in Thursday's tally, which has at least 33 dead in
various attacks across Iraq. About a third of the deaths came at a new
Sunni-Arab TV station in the capital, which was stormed by gunmen. Also, the
bodies of more torture victims are turning up.
The Iraqi Health Ministry reported nearly 2,700 civilians were killed
last month in Baghdad alone. And that's despite coalition efforts to put down
the violence there.
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