50 Iraqis Abducted By Baghdad Gunmen

Fears are growing for the lives of 50 Iraqis plucked off the streets of Baghdad yesterday by what senior Iraqi and US military officials described as "rogue elements" in the security forces.

Witnesses said the abductions had taken place early in the morning after 10 to 15 pick-up trucks carrying heavily armed men in police uniforms sealed off a street in central Baghdad where travel agencies and bus stations offering transport to Syria, Jordan and Lebanon are located.

Those rounded up included drivers and passengers preparing to travel abroad. But police said the men had also seized a number of other people working in the area, as well as passersby. "It took them about five minutes to take people away. One, two, three, four - one after another," said Hamza Ali, a witness.

The operation appeared methodical and well coordinated, police sources said. No shots were fired.

"They took all workers from the companies and nearby shops," Haidar Muhammad Eleibi, who works for Swan Transportation in the Salihiya business district, told the Associated Press.

Even a vendor selling tea and sandwiches was seized. "They did not give any reason for it," Mr Eleibi said. "Police came afterward and did nothing."

One witness told Iraqi television that the gunmen had beaten people before putting bags on the captives' heads and herding them into the trucks. Another, Amjad Hameed, said Iraqi forces and Americans had arrived at the scene but had left without helping.

The identity of the gunmen and the motive behind the abductions was not clear. Since the US invasion in 2003, thousands of Iraqis have been kidnapped either by religious extremists, tribal members seeking revenge or criminal gangs. There have been countless reports of kidnappers using police cars and uniforms. There are also growing worries of infiltration of the police by sectarian militias.

On Sunday a group of students on their way to exams were among 21 people killed in a sectarian massacre by gunmen at a bogus checkpoint in Diyala province.

Some security sources suggested yesterday's operation in Baghdad had been carried out by the interior ministry as part of its anti-insurgency effort.

But the claim was denied by Adnan Azawi, a deputy interior minister, who told the Guardian: "What happened in Salihiya is a kidnapping operation pure and simple. The area is protected by the Iraqi army and we have an arrangement that we don't conduct interior ministry operations in those areas under the control of the Iraqi army." The ministry also denied that the police were involved.

A senior US army official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "We believe that this was not a sanctioned operation from the ministry of interior, but the result of rogue elements bearing some resemblance to uniformed police."

The kidnappings are likely to bolster those Iraqi leaders who are calling for a unified security force in Iraq's chaotic capital. An adviser to President Jalal Talabani said last night: "There are so many different security forces in Baghdad ... that it's hard for the citizen to know who to trust. And it is easier for the criminals to make hay."