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| Gunmen abduct Qatar hunters in Iraq desert | Gunmen abduct Qatar hunters in Iraq desert |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Gunmen have kidnapped at least 26 Qatari hunters in a desert area of Iraq near the Saudi border, officials say. | Gunmen have kidnapped at least 26 Qatari hunters in a desert area of Iraq near the Saudi border, officials say. |
| The attackers were driving "about 50" four-wheel drive vehicles when they swept into the hunters' camp at dawn on Wednesday, an Iraqi source told the BBC's Arabic service. | The attackers were driving "about 50" four-wheel drive vehicles when they swept into the hunters' camp at dawn on Wednesday, an Iraqi source told the BBC's Arabic service. |
| They struck near Layyah, 190km (118 miles) from Samawa, after arriving from the Nasiriya area, the source said. | |
| A wide-scale search has been launched for the attackers, police say. | A wide-scale search has been launched for the attackers, police say. |
| Hunters from various Gulf states often travel to the area at this time of year. | |
| The hunters had been escorted by Iraqi security forces but they decided not to engage a large number of gunmen, a Samawa police colonel told the agency. | |
| "We are talking about at least 100 gunmen armed with light and medium weapons," he said. | |
| More than 12 years after the US-led invasion and occupation, Iraq is still plagued by violent crime and militant attacks. | |
| In September, 16 Turkish construction workers were freed a month after being kidnapped in the capital, Baghdad, apparently by Shia Muslim militants. |