WRAP Gunmen kidnap Chaldean Catholic archbishop, funeral of driver, STILL

• published: 21 Jul 2015
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SHOTLIST Al Akhaa neighbourhood, Mosul 1. Wide of road showing sign pointing to Mosul 2. Close of sign 3. Pan to church 4. Wide of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho's church 5. Various of damage to church, bullet holes in exterior walls 6. Iraqi Humvee outside church Kremlis, 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of Mosul 7. Prayers during funeral service 8. Coffins 9. Close of coffin with picture on top 10. Mourners with woman crying 11. Close of woman covering her eyes 12. Coffin with picture on top, mourners 13. Wide of mourners 14. Close of woman 15. Man crying 16. Men lifting coffin onto their shoulders 17. Woman mourner crying 18. Nuns crying 19. Mourners with coffins 20. Exterior of church with mourners 21. Coffin being carried through crowd 22. Woman crying 23. Coffin being carried through crowd 24. Coffin being placed into hearse 25. Wide of church, mourners Al Akhaa neighbourhood, Mosul 26. Zoom in to framed photograph on wall of church, showing Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho meeting Pope Benedict XVI 27. Zoom in to photo showing Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho sitting with a group of clergymen (Rahho is in the back row, second from the left) STORYLINE A funeral service was held in Kremlis, Iraq on Saturday for three people killed during the kidnapping of a Chaldean Catholic archbishop, one of whom was the archbishop's driver. Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was captured by gunmen on Friday in the northern city of Mosul, the church and police said, in another attack targeting Iraq's small Christian community. His driver was among the dead in the attack, which occurred in the al Akhaa neighbourhood of Mosul. Pope Benedict XVI appealed for the cleric's swift release, saying the abduction was an "abominable act." The attack happened after he ended a Mass in a nearby church, said Iraqi Brigadier General Khalid Abdul-Sattar, a spokesman for the Ninevah province police. The pope invited the whole church to "unite in fervent prayer so that reason and humanity prevail among the authors of the kidnapping, and that Monsignor Rahho is returned quickly to the care of his flock." An aide to Iraq's Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, leader of the church, said he did not know who was behind the kidnapping of the 65-year-old archbishop. He said the act of abduction against a Christian clergyman increased fears and worries about the situation of Christians in Iraq. Rabban al-Qas, the bishop of the northern Iraqi cities of Irbil and Amadiyah, said the church was especially concerned because Rahho had health problems. He did not elaborate. He added the the abduction was one in a series of kidnappings carried out by "terrorist" groups against the Christians. At the archbishop's church, a framed photograph on the wall shows Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho meeting the pope. Also in the picture is Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly. Another picture shows clergymen, including Rahho, at the Chaldean Archbishops' meeting in Shaqlawah, Iraq, in 2006. Last year's International Religious Freedom Report from the US State Department noted that Chaldean Catholics comprised a tiny minority of the Iraqi population, but were the largest group among the less than one (m) million Christians in mostly Muslim Iraq. 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 and many have fled the country. The Chaldean Church is an Eastern-rite denomination that recognises the authority of the pope and is aligned with Rome. Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also pledged last autumn to protect and support the Christian minority. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/f9580a5e24c9b21ea9aaabf91b3dc8e1 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork