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| An undated handout photo shows Italian
journalist Giuliana Sgrena who was kidnapped in Baghdad on February
4, 2005 as she conducted interviews on the street, the Italian
government said. (Reuters) |
Rome was seeking the release of an Italian reporter kidnapped outside a
Baghdad mosque while Iraq's main Shiite coalition held onto a commanding
lead as vote counting progressed, and Germany proffered aid for Iraq, including
military training.
Giuliana Sgrena, 56, a correspondent for the leftist Il Manifesto daily, was
abducted Friday after visiting a mosque where refugees have been encamped
since the devastating US-led assault on Fallujah in November.
The area is one of notorious danger for journalists. French journalist
Florence Aubenas was snatched a month ago as she worked on the same story
and another Western reporter narrowly escaped an abduction attempt 10 days
ago.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told his Forza Italia ruling
party that "the negotiating machinery has been set in motion" to press for the journalist's release.
Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said Sgrena had "probably been
kidnapped by a Sunni (Arab) group" and pledged Rome's commitment "to do
everything possible to secure her release."
An Iraqi guard working on the Baghdad University compound sheltering
the refugees, witnessed the capture and said Sgrena's driver and
translator were spared when a gunfight broke out between the kidnappers
and campus security.
Dozens of foreigners, including journalists and aid workers, have been
abducted by Sunni Arab insurgents and a number murdered since the spate of
hostage-taking erupted last April.
The so-called Islamic Jihad Organisation handed Berlusconi, who has
faced down domestic opposition to be one of the US' staunchest Iraq allies, a chilling
72-hour deadline to pull his 3,000 troops out of Iraq.
(Agencies) | 
Updated: 2005-02-05 10:44