Christian merchant gunned down in Mosul, Iraq

"Unknown armed men driving an unmarked car killed Sabah Gurgis while he was on his way to work this morning," police Major Khalid Mahmud said, according to an International Christian Concern report citing the Agence-France Presse (AFP).

"One of the men opened fire on him before escaping," the officer stated.

Gurgis, 54, owned a shop selling spectacles close to his home in the centre of Mosul, Mahmud said.

ICC reports that between February 14 and 23, eight Christians were killed in and around Mosul, sparking protests in Baghdad and the northern city involving hundreds of Christians, who accused the government and security forces of inaction.

Iraq has said it will set up an inquiry and boost security in Mosul.

According to ICC, in November, New York-based Human Rights Watch warned that minorities in the oil-rich north including Christians were the collateral victims of a conflict between Arabs and Kurds over who controls Iraq's disputed northern provinces.

The group says that while sectarian violence has dropped dramatically across Iraq since its peak between 2005 and 2007, attacks remain common, especially in Baghdad and Mosul.

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