Group of Iraqi Anglican leaders feared dead
London (AsiaNews/Agencies) A group of lay leaders of the main Anglican church in Iraq is presumed to have been killed after they were attacked while returning from a conference in Jordan. The news was reported yesterday by the Times online paper, quoting Anglican sources.
Canon Andrew White, of the Foundation for Reconciliation in the Middle East, who is the clergyman in charge of the church, said: "Anglican leaders in Baghdad have been missing for two weeks and they are presumed dead."
Those missing include Maher Dakel, the lay pastor; his wife, Mona, who leads the women's section of the church; their son Yeheya; the church's pianist and music director, Firas Raad; the deputy lay pastor; and their driver, whose name has not been disclosed.
Last news of the five were heard on September 13, when Canon White was told that they had been attacked the day before while returning from Jordan on the notoriously dangerous road between Ramadi and Fallujah.
"It is the most dangerous area in Iraq," he said. "One of two things must have happened. They either got kidnapped or they died. But we have had no ransom demand or anything."
Canon White did not think they were targeted because they were Anglicans.
"The fact is that attacks on people on that road happen all the time, particularly on people who appear to be richer or middle class."
The leaders were responsible of Baghdad' s St George's Church. The building was reopened in 2003 and gathers a congregation of 800 people.
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