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30/05/2007
Houses raided in search for kidnapped Britons
The search is continuing for five Britons who were abducted by gunmen from the Iraqi finance ministry in Baghdad yesterday.
US and Iraqi troops have conducted a series of raids on houses and buildings in the Sadr City area of Baghdad in a bid to find the Britons.
Prime Minister Tony Blair said that everything possible was being done to try to secure the release of the UK citizens.
Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said that the UK government was working closely with Iraqi authorities in order to try and secure the release of the Britons.
Four of those kidnapped are bodyguards, working for Canadian firm GardaWorld, while the fifth person was the client they were protecting.
They are believed to be a computer expert, who was working for US management consultancy firm Bearingpoint.
It is understood that around 40 gunmen were involved in the abduction of the Britons and, according to reports, they were dressed in Iraqi police uniforms.
It is not known which group is holding the Britons, although there has been speculation that they have been seized by Shia militia, who are known to have heavily infiltrated the Iraqi police force.
There has been speculation that the Britons may have been abducted in revenge for the killing of a senior member of the Shi'ite Mehdi Army by coalition troops in Basra last week.
The British government's emergency response committee, Cobra, met to discuss the incident on Tuesday.
Around 200 foreigners of different nationalities have been kidnapped in Iraq since 2003.
(KMcA/JM)
US and Iraqi troops have conducted a series of raids on houses and buildings in the Sadr City area of Baghdad in a bid to find the Britons.
Prime Minister Tony Blair said that everything possible was being done to try to secure the release of the UK citizens.
Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said that the UK government was working closely with Iraqi authorities in order to try and secure the release of the Britons.
Four of those kidnapped are bodyguards, working for Canadian firm GardaWorld, while the fifth person was the client they were protecting.
They are believed to be a computer expert, who was working for US management consultancy firm Bearingpoint.
It is understood that around 40 gunmen were involved in the abduction of the Britons and, according to reports, they were dressed in Iraqi police uniforms.
It is not known which group is holding the Britons, although there has been speculation that they have been seized by Shia militia, who are known to have heavily infiltrated the Iraqi police force.
There has been speculation that the Britons may have been abducted in revenge for the killing of a senior member of the Shi'ite Mehdi Army by coalition troops in Basra last week.
The British government's emergency response committee, Cobra, met to discuss the incident on Tuesday.
Around 200 foreigners of different nationalities have been kidnapped in Iraq since 2003.
(KMcA/JM)
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