AN ASSYRIAN ORTHODOX PRIEST has been murdered in Baghdad:

Christian priest gunned down in Baghdad

BAGHDAD (AFP) — Gunmen shot dead an Assyrian Orthodox priest near his house in the centre of the Iraqi capital on Saturday, in an attack condemned by Pope Benedict XVI who expressed his "profound sorrow".

Iraqi security officials said Youssef Adel, a priest with Saint Peter's Church, was gunned down by gunmen travelling in a car around noon (0900 GMT) as he left home.

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The Assyrian church has maintained its independence since the 5th century when it broke away from the rest of the Christian communion. Some of its followers still speak a modern version of Aramaic, the language of Christ.

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Barbaric.