Body of kidnapped Kurdish lawmaker found in Baghdad

An Iraqi police patrol found the body of a Kurdish lawmaker in northern Baghdad district, the police said on Friday.

"A police patrol found two bodies in the Waziriyah neighborhood on Thursday, one of the bodies identified as Muhammad Ridha Muhammad, a lawmaker from the Jamat Islamia group which has four seats in the Kurdish bloc's 53 in parliament," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Earlier on Thursday, Muhammad was kidnapped with his driver in Baghdad's northern district of Seleikh, the source said.

Hours after the kidnapping, the bodies of Muhammad and his driver riddled with bullets were found in a Sunni neighborhood, he added.

Muhammad was the first lawmaker of the 2006 permanent parliament to be killed as the legislators of the volatile country are usually heavily protected by bodyguards.