MOSUL, Iraq, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- A member of the Christian church was killed execution-style in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, prompting renewed concern over targeted killings, sources say.
Police discovered the body of a 36-year-old male with multiple bullet wounds to the head Thursday in Mosul, creating tension in the Christian community in the north of Iraq, Christian news agency AsiaNews reported Friday.
Sources to the news organization say a Christian male was kidnapped Jan. 1 in Mosul and was tortured by his captors for four days before his release on a $50,000 ransom.
Members of the Christian community in Iraq witnessed a spate of targeted killings beginning in October 2008. U.N. and international aid groups said the violence forced roughly half of the Christian population in the north to flee the area.
Several Christian families fled to refugee camps in neighboring Syria as insurgents issued pamphlets threatening the lives of the religious minority.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki dispatched thousands of police units north in an effort to calm the violence, but sources told AsiaNews the situation is becoming volatile once again.
