AP Wire | 11/01/2004 | Gunman Seize a Nepalese, an American, 4 Iraqis in Iraq

Posted on Mon, Nov. 01, 2004

MARIAM FAM

Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen stormed the compound of a Saudi company in a fashionable Baghdad neighborhood Monday, seizing an American, a Nepalese and four Iraqis after a gunbattle in which a guard and one of the assailants were killed, police said.

The American, who was not identified, was the 12th U.S. citizen reported kidnapped or missing in Iraq. He was grabbed about 500 yards from the house where two Americans and a Briton were kidnapped last month. All three were beheaded.

The dramatic abduction occurred two days after the decapitated body of Japanese backpacker Shosei Koda was found in western Baghdad. The al-Qaida-affiliated movement of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for his kidnapping.

Police Lt. Col. Maan Khalaf said the heavily armed kidnappers arrived in three cars around iftar, the traditional sunset meal which Muslims eat to break their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

The kidnappers stormed the two-story house, which is surrounded by an outer wall with iron bars, in a hail of gunfire and forced the victims to leave with them. There were conflicting reports on the number taken but Interior Ministry spokesman Col. Adnan Abdul-Rahman said they were one American, a Nepalese and four Iraqis.

"We heard gunfire. I went outside to see what's going on when a man pointed a machine gun at me and said: 'Get in or else I'll shoot at you,'" said Haidar Karar, who lives nearby.

From his house, Karar saw "at least 20 attackers, some masked and some not." He said some were wearing traditional Arab robes and all were carrying automatic weapons.

More than 160 foreigners have been abducted this year by militants with political demands or by criminals seeking ransom. At least 33 captives have been killed - several of them by al-Zarqawi's group, which is believed headquartered in Fallujah.

By comparison, more than 152 Iraqis were kidnapped in October alone, the highest number recorded in a single month since the U.S. occupation began in March 2003, according to the Interior Ministry.

"This is the fate of whoever is aiding or supporting the crusaders against the Muslims and mujahedeen," the group said on its Web site. It was impossible to verify the claim's authenticity.

The latest violence occurred as American troops are gearing up for a major offensive against Fallujah, the strongest bastion of Sunni insurgents and located about 40 miles west of the capital. The order to launch the assault must come from Allawi, the Iraqi prime minister, who warned Sunday that his patience with negotiations was thinning.

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Associated Press reporter Omar Sinan contributed to this report. Sphere: Related Content