A young Christian couple have been killed and a Christian man kidnapped in Iraq, heightening fears about the increasing threat to the Christian community now US troops have left the country.
According to Barnabas Fund, Adnan Elia Jakmakji (34) and his wife Raghad al Tawil (25) were shot dead in their car on Dec 13 late reports reaching here said. Their two sons were wounded as gunmen sprayed the vehicle with bullets. The family was ambushed in Mosul, northern Iraq, by an armed group.
The previous day, Sermat Patros, a 29-year-old Christian man, was kidnapped from his family’s home furnishings store in Ankawa in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan. He was held for three days, during which his captors demanded a $500,000 ransom. Sermat, who was blindfolded and tied down during his ordeal, was rescued by a SWAT team on 15 December to the great relief of his 21-year-old wife Amal and the local Christian community.
The kidnapping follows an outbreak of anti-Christian violence in Zakho, Kurdistan, earlier this month. Shops and businesses belonging to Christians were torched by Islamists on 2 December; the owners were later threatened with death if they re-opened the premises.
Thousands of Iraqi Christians have moved to Kurdistan to escape anti-Christian violence in other parts of the country; this region is increasingly looking less of a safe haven for them.
