Baghdad suburb raided for hostages

Raids were carried out by US and Iraqi soldiers on houses in Sadr City - a predominantly Shia area of the capital - yesterday and in the early hours of today.

It is thought that a Shia militia, the Mahdi Army, is behind the kidnap - and that it is in retaliation for the killing of a Mahdi leader by British troops last week. A commander of the Mahdi Army has reportedly claimed his men were responsible, but this has not been confirmed.

The four security guards and one computer expert were abducted along with three German lecturers from the finance ministry in Baghdad.

The security guards were working for the firm GardaWorld, which employs mainly British professionals. The IT expert was working for a US company called BearingPoint.

Eyewitnesses said the group were captured by about forty mmany of whom were wearing the uniforms of special police commandoes.

It seems there may have been some connivance on the part of police or security forces - and the incident begs the question of whether security can be enforced in Iraq if it cannot be enforced inside government buildings.

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