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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Kidnappers seize Iraqi minister | Kidnappers seize Iraqi minister |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Gunmen have kidnapped an Iraqi deputy health minister from his home in Baghdad, security sources have said. | Gunmen have kidnapped an Iraqi deputy health minister from his home in Baghdad, security sources have said. |
| Several men, some in uniform, arrived in police cars and pick-up trucks to seize Ammar al-Saffar, police said. | Several men, some in uniform, arrived in police cars and pick-up trucks to seize Ammar al-Saffar, police said. |
| Mr Saffar's kidnap comes less than a week after dozens of people were abducted from the education ministry. | Mr Saffar's kidnap comes less than a week after dozens of people were abducted from the education ministry. |
| As some 50 Iraqis died in violence on Sunday, a top Syrian official on a landmark visit called for a timetable for foreign troops to withdraw. | |
| Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem - the first senior Syrian official to visit Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 - said such a timetable would reduce violence. | |
| Speaking at a press conference with his Iraqi counterpart, Hoshyar Zebari, Mr Moualem also expressed his country's full support for the government in Baghdad and Iraq's national unity. | |
| It was the first visit by a top Syrian official since Saddam's fall in 2003 | |
| Mr Zebari said Mr Moualem's visit would open a "new page in relations between the two countries". | |
| "Iraq's security is an issue for Syria and the neighbouring countries," he said. "It's important they support our government and fight terrorism." | |
| The visit came amid calls for the Bush administration to involve Iraq's neighbours, Syria and Iran, in the search for an end to the conflict in Iraq. | |
| But Mr Moualem stressed he was not in Iraq "to satisfy some other person". | |
| He has previously said Damascus is ready to engage in a dialogue with Washington in an effort to achieve stability in Iraq and the surrounding region. | |
| Uniformed guards | Uniformed guards |
| The challenge facing Iraq's government was highlighted by news of Mr Saffar's kidnap. | The challenge facing Iraq's government was highlighted by news of Mr Saffar's kidnap. |
| Six uniformed guards and several men wearing suits seized Mr Saffar from his home in Baghdad's Sunni neighbourhood of Adhamiya, police said. | Six uniformed guards and several men wearing suits seized Mr Saffar from his home in Baghdad's Sunni neighbourhood of Adhamiya, police said. |
| Mr Saffar, one of several deputies to the health minister, belongs to the Shia Dawa party of Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. | Mr Saffar, one of several deputies to the health minister, belongs to the Shia Dawa party of Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. |
| There is still confusion over the number of people seized in Tuesday's mass kidnap which was carried out by men wearing police-style uniforms. Sunni and Shia leaders cannot agree whether all the hostages have been freed. | There is still confusion over the number of people seized in Tuesday's mass kidnap which was carried out by men wearing police-style uniforms. Sunni and Shia leaders cannot agree whether all the hostages have been freed. |
| There are also conflicting reports about the fate of five foreigners kidnapped from a civilian convoy in southern Iraq. | There are also conflicting reports about the fate of five foreigners kidnapped from a civilian convoy in southern Iraq. |
| The men - four US citizens and an Austrian - were seized on Thursday near Basra as they drove towards Nasiriya. | The men - four US citizens and an Austrian - were seized on Thursday near Basra as they drove towards Nasiriya. |
| Labourers killed | Labourers killed |
| Mr Saffar's abduction happened amid further bloodshed across Iraq. | Mr Saffar's abduction happened amid further bloodshed across Iraq. |
| In the worst single attack on Sunday, a suicide bomber struck a crowd of labourers looking for work in the town of Hilla, 100km (65 miles) south of Baghdad. | In the worst single attack on Sunday, a suicide bomber struck a crowd of labourers looking for work in the town of Hilla, 100km (65 miles) south of Baghdad. |
| A Baghdad bus station was hit by three bombs on SundayThe bombing left at least 22 people dead and more than 40 injured in the mainly Shia Muslim town. | |
| Witnesses said the bomber rammed a car laden with explosives into a crowd of men who were queuing in a yard. | Witnesses said the bomber rammed a car laden with explosives into a crowd of men who were queuing in a yard. |
| "I was thrown a few metres by the blast and I couldn't see or hear for a few minutes as I was laying on the ground," Mohammed Abbas Kadhim, 30, said. | "I was thrown a few metres by the blast and I couldn't see or hear for a few minutes as I was laying on the ground," Mohammed Abbas Kadhim, 30, said. |
| "People were racing everywhere looking for their missing sons, brothers, friends - all of them shouting: 'God is great,'" he said. | "People were racing everywhere looking for their missing sons, brothers, friends - all of them shouting: 'God is great,'" he said. |
| Hilla was the site of one of the worst bomb attacks since the US-led invasion, when in February 2005 a suicide bomber killed 125 national guard and police recruits. | Hilla was the site of one of the worst bomb attacks since the US-led invasion, when in February 2005 a suicide bomber killed 125 national guard and police recruits. |
| In other violence on Sunday, three car bombs exploded at a bus station in a Shia area of eastern Baghdad, killing 10 people and injuring 45. | In other violence on Sunday, three car bombs exploded at a bus station in a Shia area of eastern Baghdad, killing 10 people and injuring 45. |
| The Iraqi government estimates that 150,000 Iraqis have been killed since 2003. | The Iraqi government estimates that 150,000 Iraqis have been killed since 2003. |