The body of a Chaldean Catholic archbishop kidnapped by gunmen last month was found in a shal- low grave in northern Iraq yesterday.
The discovery sparked an immediate response from Pope Benedict XVI. Speaking in Rome, he said the act offends the dignity of humankind.
Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was seized by gun- men on February 29, minutes after delivering a mass in Mosul, considered the last urban stronghold of al Qaeda in Iraq.
After two weeks of prayers and searching, officials at the archbishop's church received a phone call from the kidnappers on Wednesday, informing them he had died and where he was buried.
It was not immediately clear if Rahho was killed by the assailants or if he died of an illness.
A Mosul morgue official said Rahho's body had no bullet holes.
No-one has claimed responsibility for the killing.
It was the latest violence in what church members call a series of attacks against Iraq's small Christian community.
Since the US-led invasion in 2003, Iraqi Christians have been targeted by Islamic extremists who label them "crusaders" loyal to US troops. Churches, priests and businesses owned by Christians have been attacked by Islamic militants.
The Pope deplored the death, calling it an "inhuman act of violence that offends the dignity of the human being and harms the peaceful coexistence of the dear Iraqi people".
The news came after severed fingers of five Western contractors were sent to the US military in Iraq, giving the men's relatives hope that they are still alive, a brother of one of the missing men said.
The Americans were abducted more than two years ago, a US government official said.
Meanwhile, British troops are to be asked to take part in a major Iraqi government security operation to wrest control of the country's only port from militia gunmen running mafia-style rackets in its docklands, according to Iraqi government sources.
It is understood the plan is for Iraqi army units, supported by elements of the UK's Basra garrison, to provide the military muscle for a mission to seize Umm Qasr.
The port, 30 miles from Basra, is critical for Iraq's economy, but is run by a militia faction loyal to the Fadhila party.
General Mohan Fahad al Fraj, commander of Iraqi forces in the south, confirmed yesterday a plan to use military force - including "Western troops" - was being drawn up to carry out the government's orders.
Britain has 4100 troops at Basra airbase five miles south-west of the city. One armoured battlegroup is also kept available to support Iraqi forces, although no-one yesterday would confirm any specific approach on the proposed Umm Qasr operation.
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