Iraq: Kidnapping Surge In Baghdad, Deputy Minister Abducted
By MISNA
Less than 24 hours from his kidnapping there have has been no news or claims for the abduction of Iraq’s acting deputy Justice minister Abdel Karim Fares, taken yesterday from his car in the outskirts of Baghdad by masked gunmen. A ministry spokesman, Haider Saadi, confirmed the kidnapping, but denied reports that also one of the deputy minister’s body guards was also taken.
Without making direct accusations, the Iraqi media reports a proliferation in recent years of Shiite militias, who, on the frontline in the battle against the Islamic State (IS), have also been accused of kidnapping people for political or criminal purposes.
The minister’s kidnapping comes four days after that of 18 Turkish construction workers abducted from a stadium they were building in Sadr City, south of the Binook district. Despite ongoing investigations and searches, the workers are still missing.
