50 People Abducted in Iraq

A group of unknown gunmen dressed as law enforcement officers conducted a raid yesterday through many bus stations in Baghdad and simply grabbed people, drivers or passengers who were preparing to exit Iraq, plus people working in the respective area in different travel agencies, announced an interior ministry official, Lt-Col Falah al-Mohamedawi.

The official added that the area is known for its conglomerate of travel agencies situated there and for passengers who leave for Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

This was no small operation as the abductees were massed into more than a dozen vehicles by the attackers, who then disappeared, many witnesses stated. One of these witnesses, Haidar Mohammed Eleibi, an employee of Swan Transportation in Salihiya business district declared that what appeared to be a group of policemen in around 15 cars, randomly seized people on the streets, including some who worked for companies and some who worked in nearby shops, without giving any reasons for their actions.

The Iraqi police denied any involvement in the mysterious operation: "The chief of the Iraqi national police, Maj-Gen Adnan Thabit, has denied the involvement of Iraqi police in the abduction of 50 persons from the Salihiya area", it was announced in an official statement.

Yesterday's tragic incident comes only a day after masked gunmen organized another massive operation, stopping two minibuses transporting students in the northern part of Baghdad, separated those who were Shiites from the Sunnis and murdered the 21 Shiites invoking the name of Islam, a witness stated.