NICOSIA --  The beheading of Syrian Orthodox priest Boulos Iskander Wednesday is among the latest in a spate of attacks on religious minorities in Iraq, according to a human rights group.

The priest was found dismembered late Wednesday in the remote Tahrir City district of Mosul. His family had been in negotiations with the kidnappers for his release, the group said.

Father Iskander, 59, was abducted from a Mosul street Monday afternoon. His kidnappers contacted his eldest son shortly afterwards, demanding $350,000 in ransom money. After negotiations it was agreed that the amount would be reduced to $40,000 if the priest's church publicly repudiated Pope Benedict XVI's remarks about Islam made in his lecture in Germany in August.

The church subsequently put up 30 large billboards all around Mosul stating their disagreement with the Pope's statements and the family managed to raise the ransom money. However, all contact abruptly ceased Tuesday night, Christian rights group Middle East Concern (MEC) said.

Iskander was discovered the following day with his arms and legs severed and arranged around his head, which rested on his chest. His remains were brought to a local hospital, which then contacted his church, MEC said.

The Syrian Orthodox Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Mosul, Mor Greogorius Saliba Shamoun, returned immediately from the Holy Synod meetings in Syria to conduct the funeral service, held on Thursday.

Father Iskander was highly respected in the community and recognized as being unprejudiced in his conduct, MEC said. He is survived by his wife, Azhar, sons Fadi and Yohanna, a married daughter, Fadiyeh, and a daughter, Miriam, 13.

Many Christian families are continuing to migrate out of Baghdad and the region around Mosul following attacks on their places of worship in September and October, according to the group.

The UN Assistance Mission to Iraq concluded in their most recent Human Rights Report that religious minorities in Iraq continue to be victim of violent and extremist groups; with many feeling that their identity and even physical existence is threatened.

Among these groups are the Sabeans, a monotheistic religious group whose leader, Sheikh Raad Mutar Saleh, was assassinated Wednesday. Many members of his community have been killed since 2003. The leader of the Yazidi community, Baba Sheikh Khurto Hajji Ismail, said on Wednesday that "the Islamic groups are a major threat to us, especially extremists like Al Qaeda and the other terrorists." Hundreds of Yazidi families have fled Mosul in the past two years, MEC said in a press release.

The Shabak community has also reported violence and intimidation, citing that over 100 of them have been killed since the beginning of June 2006.