Militants kidnap Allawi family members

GUNMEN abducted three members of Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's family from their Baghdad home and threatened yesterday that they would be beheaded in two days if the siege of Fallujah was not lifted.

A cousin of the premier, Ghazi Allawi, the cousin's wife and their daughter-in-law were snatched on Tuesday night from their house in the western Yarmouk neighbourhood, government spokesman Thair al-Naqeeb said.

"Ghazi Allawi is 75 years old. He has no political affiliation, and is not holding a government post," the statement said.