Iraqi archbishop 'not afraid' after attack on his residence
(January 13, 2013) Gunmen shooting at guards keeping watch over the archbishop's
residence in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk triggered a firefight in which two
of the three gunmen died and five policemen were wounded. One gunman was arrested.
Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Louis Sako told Vatican Radio that he had just returned
home from a parish visit before the drive-by attack on Wednesday. Police nearby intervened
as well, the archbishop said. After the shooting, the archbishop said he immediately
went to the scene to bolster the spirits of guards and bystanders. "We are not afraid,"
he said but lamented there's no order or control in the country. Archbishop Sako
said he believes the gunmen had the wrong target. Police suspect the attackers were
targeting a member of the Iraqi parliament who lives next to the archbishop's house
and whose home also was attacked Jan. 8, according to the Rome-based AsiaNews.