Catholic Archbishop Released after 24 Hours Kidnapped

The shock of the kidnapping of the Archbishop of Mosul has faded away very quickly as he was released 24 hours after being kidnapped at gunpoint.

The victim Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa from the Syrian Catholic Church, was forced into a car as he was walking in front of the Al-Bishara church in Mosul's eastern neighbourhood of Muhandeseen.

Mosul is the historical home of tens of thousands of Assyrian Christians whom live in and around the city. However, the rising tensions between Christians and the Muslims has driven a lot of them to flee to neighbouring countries.

Immediately after Archbishop Casmoussa was found to be kidnapped, the Vatican was informed at once. Pope John Paul II had been praying for the release of Archbishop Casmoussa, said Joaquin Navarro-Vallsm, the papal spokesman. As soon as the Pope received the news that Archbishop Casmoussa was released, he thanked God for the happy ending.

Previously the Pope had declared a ransom of £106,000, however no group has finally claimed the responsibility, therefore the payment has not been made till now. The Pope condemned the abduction as an "act of terrorism".

Archbishop Casmoussa, after the release, clarified to the media that the kidnappers did not appear to have any harmful motive against him. He hoped that his ordeal would not be seen as an attack on the Church in the predominantly Muslim nation.

"As soon as they found out I was a bishop, their attitude changed...I think that my abduction was a coincidence. In recent times, there have been numerous kidnappings around here," said Archbishop Casmoussa, "Based on the conversations I had with them (the kidnappers), it didn't appear to me that they wanted to strike at the Church as such."

Archbishop Casmoussa was believed to have been the highest-ranking Catholic prelate to be abducted in Iraq.

Iraqi Churches have been under constant fear with a rising number of attacks recorded targeted on Christians and church buildings, with a number of murders. Even humanitarian groups working in Iraq was under the threat of terrorist attack. Most of the aid agencies or faith-based organisations have also at times been forced to pull out of the country.