The Iraqi Catholic archbishop of Mosul who was released after his abduction at gunpoint kept silent about his kidnappers and said his ordeal was a mistake.
   
"Thank God for everything. The whole operation was unintentional because I was released in less than 24 hours. The kidnappers knew that I wasn't the one they wanted," Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa said in the troubled northern city of Mosul.
   
But his driver, who was with Casmoussa when armed men blocked the road and abducted him, told a different story.
   
"We were going to a funeral. Two cars blocked the road. Two men carrying pistols asked the bishop to step out," said Akram Daoud.
   
"I told them he was a clergyman and they said 'We know'. They did not hit me or the bishop. They took the bishop and my keys and left. They drove a few metres and then threw the keys out the window and drove away."
   
The Vatican, which condemned the abduction as an "act of terrorism", welcomed his release and said Pope John Paul "thanked God for the happy ending".
    
Misna, a Rome-based Catholic missionary news agency with extensive contacts in the developing world, earlier reported the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of $200,000.
   
Casmoussa, wearing a black tunic, said no ransom had been paid and added he did not notice any signs of mediation while in captivity.
   
"They treated me well. They asked me questions. Afterwards they knew it wasn't me they were after. My health was good and they treated me very well," he said.
   
Casmoussa was believed to be the most prominent Christian figure swept up in the chaotic violence gripping Iraq. Although his abduction was relatively short compared to many others, it is likely to sound new alarms in Iraq's tiny Christian community.
   
A series of church bombings in a country with a delicate sectarian balance has raised some concerns that a suspected campaign to spark a civil war has spread to the Christian community.
  
Butros Mushee, the archbishop's deputy, said Casmoussa had urged Iraqis to unite and refuse collaboration with foreign parties and that position may have won his release in a country where the presence of US troops has fueled widespread resentment.
   
"His views proved he was released without paying a ransom and with no conditions. That's why he was treated with respect," he said.
   
Despite his assertion that his kidnappers grabbed the wrong man, he declined to comment on them or their questions.
   
"Thank God I am safe. I felt like I was visiting someone's house. I want to rest now," he said.
   
Casmoussa, who appeared relaxed and smiled, would not say where he was taken after his kidnapping in Mosul, site of frequent clashes between insurgents and US troops.
   
Most of Iraq's Christians belong to the early Assyrian and Chaldean Catholic churches. The Vatican strongly opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq.
   
While Christians had little political power under Saddam Hussein, they were free to worship and did not feel threatened by sectarian violence.
   
But Iraq's 650,000 or so Christians have been trickling out of their ancient homeland since the US-led invasion in 2003 as insurgents step up attacks against both Muslim and Christian holy places in an apparent bid to inflame sectarian tension.
   
Last month the Vatican's foreign minister warned that anti-Christian feeling was spreading in Iraq and other Muslim countries because of the war on terrorism.