LOC16:53
13:53 GMT
Reporter of Saudi newspaper abducted in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, April 5 (KUNA) -- An unidentified armed group has abducted a
reporter working for the Saudi Arabian "Al-Watan" newspaper and the "Al-Watan
Al-Arabi" magazine.
The press freedom monitoring center, a media organization that defends
rights of the journalists in Iraq, said that unidentified gunmen abducted
Othman Al-Mashadani yesterday in the Al-Shu'ala suburb west of here without
giving details on the nature of his abduction.
The center quoted Al-Mashadani's colleagues as saying that the gunmen
contacted his family hours after his abduction to demand a ransom for his
release.
The call was then cut off and his fate is not yet known.
Some 49 abductions have been reported in Iraq during the past four years
covering journalists and assistant Iraqi reporters as well as foreigners.(end)
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KUNA 051653 Apr 07NNNN