US woman journalist kidnapped

From correspondents in Baghdad
January 07, 2006

A US woman journalist was kidnapped in Baghdad today and her translator killed, Iraqi security sources said, in the latest hostage crisis involving Westerners in the war-torn country.

"A Western journalist was abducted by armed men in the Adl district of western Baghdad and her translator found dead," one source said.
An Iraqi defence ministry official said the interpreter was able to tell soldiers before he died that a US journalist had been kidnapped.

The US embassy said it was investigating reports of the kidnapping of one of its nationals.

Officials indicated the journalist was seized as she was on her way to interview prominent Sunni Arab politician Adnan al-Dulaimi.

A guard outside Dulaimi's office told AFP he heard gunshots fired a short distance away and rushed to find the body of a slain man.

US and Iraqi soldiers, along with police, cordoned off the area.

A number of Westerners are already being held hostage by insurgents in Iraq, including an American, a Briton and two Canadians, all members of a Christian peace group.

Link Here