Baghdad
Dozens of armed men dressed as police abducted more than 100 Iraqis from an Education Ministry building in Baghdad this week. Witnesses said the gunmen spared the women and the Shiite men, but bundled all the Sunni men into vans and drove them away, as real police looked on without interfering. It was the biggest mass kidnapping since the U.S. invasion, and it shocked the Iraqi government. "All Interior Ministry forces are on alert, searching for this group," said Abd al-Karim Khalaf, Interior Ministry spokesman. "We don't know if it's terrorists, militias, or even government forces." The Education Ministry closed all universities until further notice.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Quiz of The Week: 12 – 19 JulyHave you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
Do we need more right-wing scientists?Talking Point Academics have a 'responsibility' to demonstrate why research matters to people who are not politically left-leaning, says Wellcome boss
-
The week's best photosIn Pictures A missile garden, a line of lava, and more
