Russia urged its citizens to leave Iraq and began moving Tuesday to evacuate civilian contractors after masked gunmen kidnapped and briefly held eight employees of a Russian energy company involved in rebuilding the country’s electricity infrastructure. The three Russians and five Ukrainians were released unharmed Tuesday, apparently because their Iraqi abductors realized their firm was from a country that opposed the U.S.-led invasion last year, according to the head of the company, Interenergoservis. Russian officials said they decided that the situation in Iraq had grown too volatile for civilian contractors and began organizing Emergencies Ministry transport planes to withdraw them. At least two firms announced they would pull out of Iraq and bring home the majority of the estimated 500 Russian civilians working there. Full Story
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