About 100 gunmen reportedly kidnapped at
least 26 Qataris - including members of its royal family - from their desert hunting camp in Iraq, it has emerged. The kidnappings took place near the
Saudi border in the early hours of Wednesday. Police confirmed the kidnappings and
About 100 gunmen reportedly kidnapped at
least 26 Qataris - including members of its royal family - from their desert hunting camp in Iraq, it has emerged.
The kidnappings took place near the
Saudi border in the early hours of Wednesday.
Police confirmed the kidnappings and
said Iraqi security forces had launched a wide-scale search for
the Qataris in the area, a largely desolate expanse where armed
militia groups predominate.
"An armed group driving dozens of pickup trucks kidnapped at
least 26 Qatari hunters from their camp in the area of Busaya in
the Samawa desert near the Saudi border," Samawa governor Falih
al-Zayady said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the mass
abduction.
Hunters from various rich Gulf states often make
trips to Iraq's southern desert at this time of year.
Qatar's Foreign Ministry said a group of its citizens were
kidnapped in Iraq while on a hunting trip. It did not mention
how many were in the group.
In a statement, the ministry said it was working with the
Iraqi government to secure their release "as soon as possible".
It added that the hunters had entered Iraqi territory with an permit from Iraq's Interior Ministry.
A Samawa police colonel said the hunters had been escorted
on their trip by an Iraqi security detail but that it decided
not to engage a large number of gunmen.
"We are talking about at least 100 gunmen armed with light
and medium weapons who broke into the Qatari camp and abducted
the hunters at around 3 a.m. local time on Wednesday," said the
police colonel, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Another police officer said initial information suggested
that the gunmen managed to flee with their captives further
north into the province of Nassiriya, 300 km (185 miles) south
of the capital Baghdad.
Iraq's Interior Ministry said police forces were conducting
searches to find the kidnappers.
"The hunters were moving in a sprawling desert area and did
not abide by Interior Ministry instructions of not leaving the
secured areas towards unsecured ones," it said in a statement.
