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Three Britons abducted in Iraq
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-09-16 14:32

Gunmen kidnapped three British nationals in the Iraqi capital Thursday, the Interior Ministry said.

The three were seized from their house in Baghdad's al-Mansour neighborhood at dawn, said ministry spokesman Col. Adnan Abdel-Rahman.

He could not give their identities or say who they worked for.

A British diplomat in Baghdad speaking on condition of anonymity was unable to confirm the report but said embassy officials were investigating. The Foreign Office in London also had no information.

A police official who asked that his name not be used said a car was missing from the house were the Britons were allegedly taken.

Several foreign contracting companies and security firms are based in the relatively wealthy al-Mansour neighborhood.

Insurgents waging a 17-month insurgency in Iraq have kidnapped more than 100 foreigners in a bid to destabilize the interim authorities and drive coalition forces from the country. Many have been executed.

At least four Westerners are currently being held hostage in Iraq.

Two Italian women, Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both 29, were abducted Sept. 7 by armed men from their offices in central Baghdad. They were working on school and water projects for the aid group ``Un Ponte Per ...'' (``A Bridge To...''). There is no word on their fate.

Two French reporters, Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, were kidnapped last month by a militant group that demanded France rescind a ban on the wearing of headscarves in public schools. Paris refused and the law has already gone into effect.



 
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