Abducted Envoy Refused Bodyguards in Iraq

[Barrett808]

Abducted Envoy Refused Bodyguards in Iraq
By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A top Algerian diplomat who was kidnapped along with a colleague and their driver had refused offers to provide him with bodyguards to highlight his country's good relations with Iraqis, Iraqi officials said Friday.

Gunmen fired on a car carrying a newlywed couple and their families on Friday, killing the bride and her mother and wounding the groom in Baghdad's southern Dora neighborhood, police and medical officials said. At least 10 other people were killed in violence elsewhere.

Iraqi army captain Wissam Abdul-Wahab and his new bride had spent their wedding night at a nearby hotel and their families had picked them up Friday morning. Insurgents frequently target Iraqi forces seen as collaborating with the U.S.-led coalition.

"My poor Sally, she was very happy yesterday," sobbed her mother-in-law Latifah Mohammed, too distraught to tell her son his bride was dead.

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050722/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[DeepModem Mom]

1. NYT: Gunmen Abduct Algeria's Top Diplomat and a Colleague in Baghdad

Gunmen Abduct Algeria's Top Diplomat and a Colleague in Baghdad
By EDWARD WONG
Published: July 22, 2005


BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 21 - The top Algerian diplomat in Iraq and a fellow envoy were abducted in Baghdad on Thursday by gunmen in what appeared to be the latest strike in the insurgent campaign to drive Muslim diplomats from the country.

The kidnapping of Ali Billaroussi, the top envoy, and Azzedine Belkadi took place in daylight hours in an upscale neighborhood and within sight of Iraqi guards at the Algerian and Omani Embassies, Interior Ministry and embassy officials said. No group took immediate responsibility for the kidnappings....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/22/international/middleeast/22iraq.html

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. "Let freedom reign!"