Gunmen kidnap senior Iraqi oil official in Baghdad

Gunmen kidnap senior Iraqi oil official in Baghdad
By Mariam Karouny
Fri Jun 9, 7:32 AM ET

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Gunmen kidnapped a senior official of Iraq's oil ministry after he left work in Baghdad on Thursday, police and ministry sources said on Friday, highlighting the lawlessness still afflicting the vital sector.

The incident occurred the same day U.S. troops killed Iraq's al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whose demise Iraq's oil minister said would help improve the country's oil production, particularly in the north.

The sources said Muthana al-Badri, Director General of Iraq's State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP), was on his way home in the Sunni district of Adhamiya when gunmen in four cars stopped his car, abducted him -- but set his driver free.

"We are seriously following the situation and hope he will be released," Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in Istanbul.

"Other officers have been kidnapped in the past and they were released. We are hoping Mr Badri will also be released."

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060609/wl_nm/energy_iraq_kidnap_dc