Boy, seven, taken hostage

Gunmen in Iraq have abducted a seven-year-old Lebanese boy and are demanding a ransom for his release, Lebanon’s official news agency reported today.

Mohammed Hamad, the son of Abdel-Ghani Hamad, who has lived in Iraq for 30 years, was kidnapped two days ago on his way home from school in the Diyala province east of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the state-run National News Agency said.