WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States on Thursday branded as "murder" and a "tragic act of terrorism" the death of a kidnapped Chaldean Catholic archbishop in Iraq despite uncertainty about how he died.
"We offer our condolences to the church on the murder of the Chaldean archbishop in Iraq," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said of the fate of Mosul Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho, who was abducted February 29.
"This demonstrates the brutality that the civilized world faces from extremists and we urge Iraqis to stand together under a modern constitution that protects people from all faiths," said Fratto.
Rahho's body was found in northern Iraq on Thursday, sparking outrage from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and an expression of deep sadness from Pope Benedict XVI.
A report from Rome had said the body had been found in a grave near the city after the kidnappers telephoned the auxiliary archbishop of Baghdad, Shlemon Warduni.
"We still don't know whether he died from his poor health or was killed," Warduni said. "The kidnappers only told us that he was dead."
Raban al-Qas, the head of the Chaldean church in Iraq's northern Kurdish region, said there was no trace of any bullet wounds in Rahho's body.
However, it had not yet been determined whether the archbishop had been tortured to death, he said.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said: "We're deeply saddened to hear those reports. This is a terrible and tragic act of terrorism, in particular for the Chaldean community.
"And our thoughts and prayers go out to the archbishop's family, as well as to the entire Chaldean community," McCormack told reporters.
Rahho, 65, was kidnapped after a shootout in which three of his companions were killed.
The Italian Roman Catholic Church's SIR news agency, quoting Warduni, said the kidnappers had telephoned to say that Rahho, who was in poor health, had died and that they had buried him.
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