TV: convoy of Iraqi Sunni pilgrims kidnapped in Iraq
www.chinaview.cn 2007-01-09 17:32:08

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    BAGHDAD, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- A convoy of Iraqi Sunni Muslim pilgrims who are returning form Hajj in Saudi Arabia was kidnapped by gunmen disguised as police on Tuesday, Qatar-based pan-Arabic television channel al-Jazeera reported.

    "The convoy was seized by Iraqi security vehicles and headed to unknown direction," Alaa Maki, a lawmaker from the Iraqi Consensus Front, a Sunni parliament bloc, told the channel.

    Maki said that four Sunni clerics were separated earlier from convoy, which was headed to Sunni Ameriyah area in Baghdad.

    "Dozens of pilgrims were at the vehicles of the convoy and some of them were calling us by their cellphones since the dawn, saying they were escorted by military vehicles and they don't know where they were heading," Maki said.

    "They said 'Help us. We are kidnapped' before their calls were cut," he added.

    As for the four clerics, he said that they were seized earlier and their destiny is not known.

    Maki held the government full responsibility for the safe of the four clerics and the convoy, warning that the incident will lead to a "political disaster".

    The Iraqi government and interior ministry did not immediately confirm the incident.

Editor: Yao Runping
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