Friday, November 17, 2006
20 taken in mass kidnapping
Security
Unidentified gunmen stormed a mall coffee shop in central Baghdad late Thursday, kidnapping 15 to 20 customers, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua. The abduction occurred at about 9:10 p.m. (1810 GMT) when gunmen in several cars attacked the coffee shop in Wattawin, a mixed neighborhood in central Baghdad, the anonymous source said.
The latest kidnapping came three days after militants in police uniforms stormed a building of the Higher Education Ministry in central Baghdad, kidnapping dozens of people. Eighty hostages kidnapped at the building of the Higher Education Ministry on Tuesday are still held, Minister Abed Thiyab al-Ajili said on Thursday. The minister told the state television that 70 of 150 hostages were released, saying those freed "were tortured."
Al-Ajili, a Sunni Arab, also reaffirmed that he would continue the suspension of his job in the Shiite-dominated government until the rest were released. Earlier, a spokesman for the ministry told reporters that kidnappers tortured and killed some of the captives. However, the government gave different hostage numbers. An Interior Ministry official told Xinhua on Wednesday that the number of hostages in the hands of kidnappers was exaggerated. "About 20 out of some 45 hostages have been released until midnight, including the deputy director of the ministry's Research Directorate," the official said on condition of anonymity.
The latest kidnapping came three days after militants in police uniforms stormed a building of the Higher Education Ministry in central Baghdad, kidnapping dozens of people. Eighty hostages kidnapped at the building of the Higher Education Ministry on Tuesday are still held, Minister Abed Thiyab al-Ajili said on Thursday. The minister told the state television that 70 of 150 hostages were released, saying those freed "were tortured."
Al-Ajili, a Sunni Arab, also reaffirmed that he would continue the suspension of his job in the Shiite-dominated government until the rest were released. Earlier, a spokesman for the ministry told reporters that kidnappers tortured and killed some of the captives. However, the government gave different hostage numbers. An Interior Ministry official told Xinhua on Wednesday that the number of hostages in the hands of kidnappers was exaggerated. "About 20 out of some 45 hostages have been released until midnight, including the deputy director of the ministry's Research Directorate," the official said on condition of anonymity.
COMMENT: The government remains divided on the facts of Tuesday's mass kidnapping, with different stories and figures emerging from both sides creating an ever widening chasm between the two. The 20 kidnapped on Thursday night could have been taken by Sunnis in retaliation for the alleged killings of Sunnis from the Higher Education Ministry, on the other hand, the Shia militias may be demonstrating how much they can get away with. COMMENT ENDS.
