Terrorists seize 50 in Iraq

June 7, 2006

On June 5, gunmen, who had posed as police officers, raided a bus station in central Baghdad and captured 50 people. Attackers raided bus stations and seized travellers and local vendors. This happened a day after 21 people were dragged off buses and killed in Diyala province.

Of the 50 people, there are two Syrians and one is an Interior Ministry official. The gunmen rounded up people from the area including people from the many travel agencies that populate the area. The people were then herded into cars and taken away.

"They took all the workers from the company and nearby shops," says Haidar Mohammed Eleibi, who works for the Swan Transportation Co. in the Salihiya business district. Most of the buses at the station were headed to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.