Five Iraqi agents gunned down after freeing hostage
Gunmen killed five Iraq’s intelligence agents as they were returning a civilian they had freed from kidnappers to his family today.
The incident occurred in Basra’s northern neighbourhood of Gurna, said Major Jasim al-Darraji.
Members of the General Security Directorate, the nation’s top spy agency, were returning an Iraqi who was kidnapped by a gang last week .
The man was freed yesterday and the gunmen opened fire early today as the agents approached his family home. The five were killed instantly and the gunmen fled, al-Darraji said.
Kidnappings for ransom and political motives have been widespread in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime last year.
Al-Darraji said that in the past two months, authorities were able to free some 15 hostages in Basra and capture about 30 kidnapping gang members. Among those freed were Iraqis, Jordanians and Egyptians, he said.
