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Full Version: Iraq Study Group Report
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http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections...roup_report.pdf
http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections...roup_report.pdf
Gunmen kidnap Iraqi aid workers BBC News
Gunmen have staged a mass kidnapping at the office of the Iraqi Red Crescent in central Baghdad, seizing up to 30 male staff and visitors, officials say.
Once inside, they rounded up all the men away, including employees and visitors. Three Iraqi guards from the nearby Netherlands embassy were also seized. The Interior Ministry has said that none of its units had been on duty in the area at the time.
Infiltrated
This is the latest in a long series of similar operations and the second in less than a week. On Thursday, gunmen in military uniforms kidnapped up to 70 people from a commercial area in the Sanak area of the capital, with at least two dozen being subsequently freed. Many of the kidnappings have been blamed on Shia militias, masquerading as police commando units. But there is also a suspicion that the police are so infiltrated by the militias that they are indistinguishable, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad. Criminal gangs seeking ransoms are also involved in kidnapping. The Iraqi Red Crescent, the country's biggest humanitarian organisation, has previously been the target of the insurgency and random attacks. On Friday, the organisation also accused US troops of attacking its office and vehicles. The Red Crescent, which has a staff of 1,000 and 200,000 volunteers, is the only Iraqi aid group working across the country's 18 provinces.
Gunmen have staged a mass kidnapping at the office of the Iraqi Red Crescent in central Baghdad, seizing up to 30 male staff and visitors, officials say.
The Red Crescent is the only aid group working across all Iraq
Armed men wearing commando-style uniforms arrived in a fleet of vehicles and stormed the aid agency's office. Once inside, the assailants separated the men from the women. It is the latest in a wave of such kidnappings and comes as the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair makes a surprise visit to the Iraqi capital. A large convoy of new vehicles like those used by the Iraqi police drew up at the Red Crescent office in Baghdad, according to officials. Men in uniforms similar to those of the Interior Ministry's special commando forces got out and entered the building, saying they had been sent to check the premises.Infiltrated
This is the latest in a long series of similar operations and the second in less than a week. On Thursday, gunmen in military uniforms kidnapped up to 70 people from a commercial area in the Sanak area of the capital, with at least two dozen being subsequently freed. Many of the kidnappings have been blamed on Shia militias, masquerading as police commando units. But there is also a suspicion that the police are so infiltrated by the militias that they are indistinguishable, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad. Criminal gangs seeking ransoms are also involved in kidnapping. The Iraqi Red Crescent, the country's biggest humanitarian organisation, has previously been the target of the insurgency and random attacks. On Friday, the organisation also accused US troops of attacking its office and vehicles. The Red Crescent, which has a staff of 1,000 and 200,000 volunteers, is the only Iraqi aid group working across the country's 18 provinces.
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