Iraq: Gunmen seize 24 from bus station, kill 20

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Gunmen ambushed a bus station in a volatile town near Baghdad on Wednesday, kidnapping two dozen people and killing all but four, authorities said, while a suicide bomber blew himself up in a restaurant in the capital. The attackers drove up in several cars and seized 24 people from the bus station in Muqdadiyah, about 90 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Baghdad. Iraqi Maj. Gen. Ahmed al-Awad, the commander of the army's 5th division in the area, told Iraqi state TV that 20 bodies had been found and the victims were Shi'ites. He said four people had been rescued. Police confirmed that 20 bodies were found but said their identities were uncertain.