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Iraqi gunmen kidnap millionaire, 29 others

Calls to replace Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani gain strength

BAGHDAD: At least 19 persons were killed, including four soldiers in a suicide bombing on Monday, as gunmen in military fatigues kidnapped 29 persons, the latest victims of the violence and lawlessness sweeping Iraq, police said.

The suicide bomber detonated a pickup truck near an Iraqi observation post outside the northern town of Mosul, killing four soldiers and wounding six, said an army officer, declining to give his name.

In a dramatic incident, gunmen in military uniforms drove to the main shopping area of Karrada in 15 four-wheeled vehicles on Monday and split into two groups, one going into a mobile phone shop and the other into the office next door of the Iraqi-American Chamber of Commerce. They kidnapped 15 staff and customers from the shop and 11 from the trade chamber, he said. All were believed to be Iraqis. No other details were available.

In another incident, gunmen, dressed in commando uniforms, blocked a car carrying a millionaire businessman and his two sons in south-eastern Baghdad, and kidnapped the three, police said. Kidnappings for ransom have become rampant in recent months as lawlessness has increased amid sectarian violence.

Abductions are believed to be a major source of income not only for criminal gangs but also militants fighting U.S. and Iraqi forces who are battling to bring normalcy to the country after the ouster of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003. — AP

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