Pope Francis said Tuesday he was
praying for an Armenian Catholic priest who was killed by ISIS
in Syria on Monday.
"I'm close to the Armeno-Catholic community of Kamichlié, in
Syria, meeting for the funeral of its priest, Father Joseph
Bedoyan, killed yesterday along with his father," Francis
tweeted.
"I'm praying for them, for the relatives, and for all
Christians in Syria".
The Islamic State (ISIS) on Monday claimed responsibility for
an attack on Monday that killed the Armenian Catholic priest and
his father, who were en-route to Deir-es-Zor to monitor the
condition of the Armenian Catholic Church there.
Rev. Hovsep Bedoyan, the pastor of the Armenian Catholic
Church in Qamishli, in northeastern Syria, was traveling in a
car with his father, Hamma, and Deacon Fati Sano of the
Al-Hasakeh church to Deir-es-Zor when gunmen opened fire on the
car, reported the Aleppo-based Kantsasar newspaper.
Rev. Bedoyan and his father were killed, while Deacon Sano
was injured.
Hours after the attack, the Islamic State-also known as ISIS
or Daesh-took responsibility according to the Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights, a group that has been monitoring violence on
the ground during the Syrian conflict. The news of the Islamic
State claiming to be behind the attack was reported by UK-based
war monitor, reported Rudaw.
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