Female Iraqi TV reporter kidnapped

Gunmen in Iraq have abducted a female Iraqi television presenter in the northern city of Mosul, an official from her local television network said today.

Raiedah Mohammed Wageh Wazan was abducted by several masked gunmen last night while she was returning to her house in Mosul’s al-Shahwan neighbourhood, said the official.

No other details were immediately available.

On Wednesday, half a dozen mortar rounds were fired at the Mosul TV station, wounding three technicians working there.

An Arabic-language internet bulletin board carried a statement from al-Qaida’s Iraq affiliate claiming responsibility for the mortar strike, but there was no way to verify the claim.