MedicCook
11-19-2006, 02:44 PM
Iraq's deputy health minister kidnapped from home
http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/WORLD/meast/11/19/iraq.main/story.sun.alsaffar.02.cnn.jpg
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 24 gunmen -- some dressed as national police -- stormed the house of Iraq's deputy health minister, Ammar al-Saffar, on Sunday and abducted him, a Baghdad emergency police official told CNN.
The kidnapping happened about 5:30 p.m. (9:30 a.m. ET) in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Adhamiya, a predominantly Sunni neighborhood, the official said.
Al-Saffar, a Shiite Muslim, is a member of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Dawa Party. In June 2004, gunmen opened fire on al-Saffar as he left home for work. He escaped unharmed.
Also Sunday, Syria's foreign minister arrived in Baghdad to meet with the Iraqi leadership, including al-Maliki, according to The Associated Press.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem's visit is a major step toward restoring diplomatic relations severed more than a quarter-century ago, and comes at a time when Syria is increasingly seen as key to helping stem the insurgency in Iraq, AP reported.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/11/19/iraq.main/index.html
http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/WORLD/meast/11/19/iraq.main/story.sun.alsaffar.02.cnn.jpg
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 24 gunmen -- some dressed as national police -- stormed the house of Iraq's deputy health minister, Ammar al-Saffar, on Sunday and abducted him, a Baghdad emergency police official told CNN.
The kidnapping happened about 5:30 p.m. (9:30 a.m. ET) in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Adhamiya, a predominantly Sunni neighborhood, the official said.
Al-Saffar, a Shiite Muslim, is a member of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Dawa Party. In June 2004, gunmen opened fire on al-Saffar as he left home for work. He escaped unharmed.
Also Sunday, Syria's foreign minister arrived in Baghdad to meet with the Iraqi leadership, including al-Maliki, according to The Associated Press.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem's visit is a major step toward restoring diplomatic relations severed more than a quarter-century ago, and comes at a time when Syria is increasingly seen as key to helping stem the insurgency in Iraq, AP reported.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/11/19/iraq.main/index.html