StoopidFly: More Than 50 Kidnapped In Iraq

Monday, June 05, 2006

More Than 50 Kidnapped In Iraq

YAHOO NEWS REPORTS:
Gunmen in police uniforms raided bus stations Monday in central Baghdad, seizing at least 50 people, including drivers and passengers preparing to travel outside Iraq. The attackers also grabbed people working in the area. The victims were herded into more than a dozen cars. It is not known who is behind the attack.
"They took all workers from the companies and nearby shops," said Haidar Mohammed Eleibi, who works for the Swan Transportation Co. in the Salihiya business district.
He said his brother and a cousin were among those detained, along with merchants, passers-by and even a vendor selling tea and sandwiches.
"They did not give any reason for it," he said. "Police came afterward and did nothing."
Another transportation worker, Amjad Hameed, said 15 cars belonging to police rushed to the area and began randomly seizing people. "We asked them why but nobody replied," he said, adding that Iraqi forces and Americans came to the site afterward.
The dramatic attack came a day after masked gunmen stopped two minivans carrying students north of Baghdad, ordered the passengers off, separated Shiites from Sunni Arabs, and killed the 21 Shiites "in the name of Islam," a witness said.
Haqi Ismail, a 48-year-old electrician, told The Associated Press that the attackers ordered the Shiites to lie down, and before they opened fire, one shouted, "On behalf of Islam, today we will dig a mass grave for you. You are traitors."