72 of those kidnapped in Iraq released
About 70 of the Iraqi intellectuals abducted in a brazen raid on the offices of the Higher Education Ministry have been released, officials said Wednesday, but it was unclear how many remained captive.
Dozens of people were taken Tuesday from the central Baghdad office that handles academic grants and exchanges, with the men handcuffed and loaded aboard about 20 pickup trucks by gunmen dressed in the uniforms of Interior Ministry commandos.
‘’Most of the hostages were freed, but that is not enough for us. We will chase those who did this ugly criminal act,'’ Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said, as he met professors and students at Baghdad University to show of support for the country’s educational institutions. ‘’We regret what happened yesterday. The government’s reaction was strong.'’
Government ministries have given wildly varying figures on the number of kidnap victims in the assault, with reports ranging from a high of about 150 to a low of 40 to 50.
Ministry spokesman Basil al-Khatib said 40 employees were released Tuesday and another 32 were freed Wednesday.
Higher Education Minister Abed Theyab said he had suspended participation in the government until all the kidnap victims were released.
The government’s swift response in ordering the arrest of police commanders in the neighborhood where Tuesday’s kidnappings occurred was a break with a pattern of inaction bordering on indifference in several earlier mass kidnappings that appeared to have been linked to Shiite death squads. While concern to show a new resolve to restive critics of the war in Washington was likely to have been a major spur, another was the sheer scale and audaciousness of Tuesday’s attack. By seizing such a large number of people from a government building, in the center of the capital, in broad daylight, the kidnappers appeared to be sending a message that they could pounce anywhere with effective impunity.
Some Iraqis said the kidnappers were dressed in new digitally marked uniforms for the Interior Ministry forces that are made in the United States. But U.S. Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., commanding general of the 1st Cavalry Division, which took control of security operations in Baghdad on Wednesday from the 4th Infantry Division, denied that.
‘’We don’t know what uniforms they had on. … We are virtually certain they are not those uniforms. Those are hard to get hold of, as they should be. We do not believe they were those new digital uniforms,'’ Fil said.
Such uniforms are designed to overcome the persistent problem in Iraq of militia and death squad members using stolen or counterfeit Interior Ministry uniforms to gain access to commit crimes and killings.
nytimes
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