Priest, five Christians kidnapped in Iraq-report

ROME, June 6 (Reuters) A Catholic priest and five young Christians have been kidnapped in Baghdad, Catholic news service AsiaNews reported today, three days after the murder of another priest and three of his assistants in Iraq.

AsiaNews said the Chaldean Catholic priest, whom it named as Hani Abdel Ahad, was seized with the five in Suleikh, a Sunni neighbourhood in northern Baghdad. It was not immediately clear when the kidnapping took place.

The report cited unconfirmed rumours that a ransom demand had been made to the patriarch of the Chaldean church, Emmanuel Delly.

On Sunday, gunmen killed Chaldean priest Ragheed Aziz Kani and his three assistants in Iraq's northern city of Mosul. The Pope condemned the murders as ''senseless killings''.

The Chaldean rite is one of the ancient rites of the Catholic Church. Its members, mostly in Iraq and Syria, are in unity with Rome.

Much of the violence in Iraq is sectarian between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims but Christians have also been targeted. Human rights groups have warned that violence is driving minority Christians out of the country.

The main Chaldean college and seminary in Baghdad have been closed for months due to threats and violence.

Reuters AM DB2059