Three Czech journalists and a Syrian-Canadian aid worker were freed by their captors, but new kidnappings were reported Friday of a man from the United Arab Emirates and a Danish businessman, the latest in a wave of abductions accompanying violence in Iraq. The Arab man was pulled from his hotel by gunmen disguised as police in the southern city of Basra on Thursday night, according to Iraqi police official Col. Khalaf al-Maliki and the hotel’s owner, who asked not to be identified. The victim was carrying a passport from the United Arab Emirates that had U.S. travel stamps in it, leading to earlier incorrect reports that he was American, al-Maliki said. It was not immediately clear whether the abduction was connected to the wave of political kidnappings by insurgents across Iraq, or simply for criminal reasons. Full Story
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