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Blair pledges help on Iraq kidnap Blair pledges help on Iraq kidnap
(about 6 hours later)
British officials will do everything possible to help free five Britons kidnapped in Iraq, Prime Minister Tony Blair has said.British officials will do everything possible to help free five Britons kidnapped in Iraq, Prime Minister Tony Blair has said.
The five - a finance expert and four bodyguards - were taken from the finance ministry building in Baghdad. The five - a computer expert and four bodyguards - were taken from the finance ministry building in Baghdad.
Witnesses and sources told the BBC that the kidnappers wore police uniforms and arrived in up to 40 police vehicles. The kidnappers wore police uniforms and staged the capture without firing a shot, senior Iraq officials said.
The UK's Foreign Office says it is in "urgent" contact with Iraqi officials in a bid to resolve the crisis. Embassy officials in Iraq are following up the case and the Iraqi government has set up a special operations room.
Mr Blair, speaking during a trip to Libya, said: "We will do everything we possibly can to help."Mr Blair, speaking during a trip to Libya, said: "We will do everything we possibly can to help."
The British government convened an emergency meeting of its Cobra crisis management committee on Tuesday afternoon. The British government convened an emergency meeting of its Cobra crisis management committee to discuss the issue on Tuesday afternoon.
'Split loyalties' 'Heavily infiltrated'
No group has taken responsibility for the abduction as yet, but witnesses said it was carried out by what appeared to be a police unit.
'Hired guns' in Iraq
The street was sealed off at both ends and the kidnappers, in police camouflage uniforms, walked past guards at the finance ministry building on Palestine Street, witnesses said.
A police source told the BBC that dozens of police vehicles were used in the operation.
The BBC's Paul Wood in Baghdad says it is well known that the Iraqi police are heavily infiltrated by militia groups - leading to split loyalties and corruption.
Crisis team
The four kidnapped security guards were working for Canadian-owned security firm Gardaworld.The four kidnapped security guards were working for Canadian-owned security firm Gardaworld.
The company is one of the biggest suppliers of private security in Iraq, and is mainly staffed by Britons.The company is one of the biggest suppliers of private security in Iraq, and is mainly staffed by Britons.
The computer expert was working for Bearingpoint, a US management consultancy which has worked on development projects in Iraq since 2003.
As yet, no group has taken responsibility for the abduction.
This is thought to be the first time Westerners have been abducted from a government facility.
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said: "Because these men were very unusually seized from a government ministry in broad daylight by people dressed as special police commandoes, in an incredibly brazen raid, the Iraqi government itself has got a few questions to answer about this.
'Hired guns' in Iraq "I think the suspicion is that there was some connivance, possibly low or middle-level, within the police. The Iraqi police is known to be heavily infiltrated by Shia militias."
BBC correspondent Jim Muir said similar abductions of large numbers of Iraqis had been blamed on Shia militias, but it was not being ruled out that Tuesday's raid could have been staged by Sunni insurgents.
He said senior Iraqi officials said the kidnappers told guards at the Ministry of Finance building that they were from the Integrity Commission - the Iraqi government's internal watchdog.
Witnesses said that the street was sealed off at both ends and the kidnappers, in police camouflage uniforms, walked past guards at the finance ministry building on Palestine Street.
A police source told the BBC that dozens of police vehicles were used in the operation.
Intense negotiations
Frank Gardner said a team of experienced police hostage negotiators had already been assembled, and that extra staff had been flown to the British Embassy in Baghdad following the kidnappings.
Intense negotiations were going on with Iraqi officials, and US representatives in Iraq, he said.
Iraqi police are heavily infiltrated by militiasIraqi police are heavily infiltrated by militias
The finance expert was working for Bearingpoint, a US management consultancy which has worked on development projects in Iraq since 2003. He added: "It's thought that it would be quite hard for them to abduct these people and take them too far from the area where they were seized without being detected.
The BBC's security correspondent, Frank Gardner, says a British crisis team is being assembled to establish lines of communication with the kidnappers. "So there will be back-channel contacts, SIS - the Secret Intelligence Service - will be involved in this, speaking to informers, trying to find out if anybody has seen anything suspicious, and trying to find out who they are dealing with here."
The team will include police hostage negotiators, members of the secret intelligence service, and regional experts, he says.
About 200 foreigners of many different nationalities have been kidnapped in Iraq over the past four years, though the number has fallen dramatically since a few years ago.About 200 foreigners of many different nationalities have been kidnapped in Iraq over the past four years, though the number has fallen dramatically since a few years ago.
This is thought to be the first time Westerners have been abducted from a government facility.