BEIJING, June 6 -- Gunmen wearing police uniforms raided bus stations yesterday in central Baghdad, seizing at least 50 people, including drivers and passengers preparing to travel outside Iraq, including two Syrians, an interior ministry official said.

    The attackers also grabbed people working in the area, where several travel agencies are based and buses pick up passengers travelling mostly to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, Lieutenant Colonel Falah al-Mohamedawi said.

    The victims were herded into more than a dozen vehicles, according to witnesses. It was not known who was 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 were seized. "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 into 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 Shi'ites from Sunni Arabs, and killed the 21 Shi'ites "in the name of Islam," a witness said.

    One survivor, Haqi Ismail, a 48-year-old electrician, said the attackers ordered the Shi'ites 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."

(Source: China Daily)