Kidnappers of a Chaldean Catholic archbishop found dead in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul had demanded a $1 million (€642000) ransom, police said today.
Paulos Faraj Rahho, the archbishop of Mosul, was abducted on February 29th after gunmen attacked his car and killed his driver and two guards.
His body was found in eastern Mosul yesterday and is due to buried on Friday. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has blamed al-Qaeda for his death.
Andraws Abuna, assistant to the Chaldean patriarch of Baghdad Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, said there had been talks between Christian officials and the kidnappers but that he did not know about the ransom.
Mr Abuna said the Church in Mosul had received a call yesterday telling them Archbishop Rahho was dead.
Church members found his half-buried body in an empty lot and took it to Mosul morgue, Mr Abuna said.
Chaldeans belong to a branch of the Roman Catholic Church that practices an ancient Eastern rite and form the biggest Christian community in Iraq.