Iraqi Gunmen Kidnap 25 Employees At Baghdad Company
Nji Che - All Headline News Staff Writer Baghdad, Iraq (AHN) - Gunmen dressed in Iraqi police uniforms on Monday kidnapped 25 employees and customers at the offices of a company in central Baghdad. While some witnesses claimed the incident occurred at the offices of the Iraqi-American Chamber of Commerce, others said the offices belonged to an independent mobile phone company. Police say the gunmen pulled up at the company in fifteen 4X4 vehicles. They surrounded both employees and customers of the mobile phone firm based at a shopping street in the Arasat district of Baghdad. Reuters quotes a witness as saying, "I was on the first floor of the Iraqi-American Chamber of Commerce and they took all the men downstairs. They were in camouflage army uniforms. They handcuffed the men and blindfolded them." The witness added that, "Me and five others were left behind because all the cars were full." A police statement said the head of the chamber of commerce and 11 of his employees were among those kidnapped. Although mass abductions of this nature have become common in Iraq, it was not immediately clear who was behind the kidnappings. Sectarian violence has continued to hit the Iraqi capital, pushing the new government to develop fears over the possible outbreak of a civil war. Last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and U.S. President George W. Bush agreed to step up security in Baghdad. More U.S. troops from othe |
