Current News in Context
July 26, 2004
Today an Egyptian diplomat was released after being held for three days. Mohammed Mamdouh Helmi Qutb, the third-highest ranking diplomat at the Egyptian mission, had been abducted Friday as he was leaving a mosque. Kidnappers had seeked to deter Egypt from sending security experts to the new Iraq government.
The Associated Press offers a list of foreigners kidnapped in Iraq. They find that nearly 70 people have been kidnapped in a violent effort to destabilize the country, drive out coalition forces and hamper reconstruction. The list offers a status report and what is know about some of those taken. Many of the truck drives - who make up a large percentage of those being held - are actually driving to and from US bases where much of the 'reconstruction' is taking place.
More Violence Feared
This week 1,000 semi-elected people from Iraq's 18 provinces are scheduled to gather in Baghdad to pick a 100-member interim national council that will serve until the January elections. The new National Council will have the power to approve the budget, veto legislation, and question ministers on policy.
But some highly influential groups -- including the Sunni Muslim Clerics' Association and supporters of radical Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr -- are already refusing to participate. Drawn up under the US-led occupation, which officially ended last month, many fear this event will attract more violence.
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