Sunday, November 19, 2006

Iraqi Deputy Health Minister Kidnapped

uh oh...

Iraqi deputy health minister kidnapped from Baghdad home

BAGHDAD (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 around 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.

It is not the first time the deputy health minister has been targeted by assailants at his home.

In June 2004, gunmen opened fire on al-Saffar as he left for work. He escaped unharmed. (Posted 11:27 a.m.)

Source: Sunday, November 19 - CNN.com

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