Confirmed the release of the Christian teacher abducted south of Kirkuk

By Baghdadhope

According to what reported by Ankawa.com, Namir Nadhim Gourguis, the Christian teacher abducted on May 14 from a school in the village of Ruwaidha, south of Kirkuk, has been released today and his health conditions are good.
The piece of news about the release of the man had been controversial in last days as it had been annouced and than denied.
According to Ankawa.com the release of the teacher has been due to the collaboration of different parts: the security forces, the tribal leaders and the Archdiocese of Kirkuk the bishop of which, Msgr. Luis Sako since the beginning had declared his willingness to do everything possible to assure it.
Msgr. Sako himself declared to Asianews, according to which any ramson has been paid, that the whole Christian community of Kirkuk "rejoices" for the realese of the man.

Denied the release of the Christian teacher abducted on Thursday

By Baghdadhope

Source: Ankawa.com

Controversial news from Iraq about the release of the Christian teacher abducted on Thursday south of Kirkuk. According to a source the web site Ankawa.com reports as "reliable" the teacher, Namir Nadhim Gourguis, is still in the hands of his abductors and he was not released as reported yesterday by the web site khabaar.com.

Release of the Christian teacher abducted two days ago

By Baghdadhope

According to what reported by the web site khabaar.com a source of the Governorate of Kirkuk revealed the release of Namir Nadhim Gourguis, the Christian teacher abducted on last Thursday.

According to the source the teacher was found in a field near a village and the abductors disappeared before the arrival of the security forces.

An armed band kidnap a Christian teacher in Kirkuk

Source: Asianews

This morning at 10 am local time, an armed group broke into a primary school in Kirkuk, dragging away a young Christian teacher. Namir Nadhim Gourguis is 32 years old, is unmarried and from “a family of very humble and poor origins” refer AsiaNews sources in Iraq.
The gang of four people, broke into the primary school in Ruwaidha village –Al Rashad district, 30 km from Kirkuk – and abducted the teacher. They have already demanded a ransom: “a very high sum – underlines the local source – that the family is unable to pay”.
In an effort to save this young man’s life, the Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk, Louis Sako, has intervened appealing to the sheiks and imams in the area to help gain his release. The prelate hopes that “these attempts at mediation will lead to he being set free”.
Kirkuk’s Christian community has been the target of these armed criminal gangs who carry out kidnappings for extortion. Only days ago a young man was assassinated on the doorstep of his home; another three people–two women and a man – were shot to death. The criminals see he Christians as an easy target: in fact unlike the Arabs or Kurds they are not protected by the community, relatives or police.