Syrian Catholic targeted for faith, killed in Iraq

MOSUL, Iraq — An unknown group of armed men killed a Syrian Catholic in violence-plagued Mosul, Iraq, two weeks after his father was kidnapped and murdered.

The gunmen killed Rayan Nafei Jamooa near his home Sept. 10. Few details have emerged in the murder case, but sources said he and his father were targeted purely for their faith.

Nassar Jamooa, the victim’s father, was kidnapped two weeks before his son’s murder; the elder man’s body was found four days later in the city’s western industrial area.

A shrinking minority in Iraq, Christians are frequently kidnapped for a mix of financial and religious reasons, but Nassar Jamooa’s kidnappers did not ask for any ransom. He and his son were targeted strictly for their faith, said a clergyman.

“Nobody asked about money, they just kidnapped and killed him,” said Bashar Warda, dean of St. Peter’s Seminary in Ankawa, a small town near Erbil. “The reason (for Nassar Jamooa’s kidnapping) would definitely be a religious one.”