Kuwait says gunmen abduct driver in Iraq

[Barrett808]

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Gunmen kidnapped the driver of a truck carrying a Kuwaiti licence plate in Iraq on Saturday, the official Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.

A police official in the Iraqi city of Samarra, Hameed Ahmed al-Samarrai, told KUNA the gunmen opened fire on the vehicle as a U.S. convoy was passing near the rebellious city of Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad.

The agency did not give the nationality of the driver. It was not clear if the truck was part of the convoy.

Insurgents aiming to disrupt supplies delivered to U.S. forces from neighbouring countries have seized dozens of foreigners in the past few months, threatening to kill them unless their employers stop operating in Iraq or pay ransom.

A group calling itself the Black Banners Division of the Islamic Secret Army is holding seven truck drivers employed by Kuwait Gulf Link Transport Company and demanding the firm leave Iraq and pay compensation to families who suffered in air strikes on Falluja.

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/breakingnews/view.asp?msgID=6801