A Catholic archbishop kidnapped in northern Iraq was freed Tuesday, a day after his abduction, a church official said. Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa of the Syrian Catholic Church was kidnapped in Mosul on Monday.
"He has been freed and he is on his way home without paying any ransom," said Potris Moshi, an assistant to the church leader.
Earlier Tuesday, Catholic news agency MISNA reported that his captors had demanded a $200,000 ransom for the release of the 66-year-old archbishop.
Meanwhile, Iraqi officials announced Tuesday that they will seal the nation's borders, extend a nighttime curfew and restrict movement inside the country to protect voters during the January 30 vote.
Elsewhere, one of the candidates Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi was fielding in the upcoming elections was killed in the southern city of Basra on Tuesday morning, according to officials, cited by Reuters.
© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
