Member of major Iraqi Sunni party killed in Mosul

[Barrett808]

A member of Iraq's main Sunni Muslim party was kidnapped and later killed in Mosul, the party said in a statement.

"Yesterday Omar Mahmoud Abdullah, a senior leader in the Iraqi Islamic Party was kidnapped from his pharmacy and hours later was killed," it said Wednesday.

Another party official said Abdullah's bullet-riddled body was found seven hours after he was kidnapped dumped in the Al-Wihda neighbourhood on the eastern side of the city.

The party, which had recently announced its withdrawal from January's legislative elections, has also cast doubt over the legitimacy of the whole process.

The party has said that it was pulling out from the elections because it believes a six-month delay will allow the security situation to improve and create more public awareness of the process.

Many Sunni religious and political figures have called for a delay and some have even decided to boycott the vote altogether.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/afp/20050105/wl_mideast_afp/iraqvotesunnis