Police: Iraqi Christian kidnapped for $100K ransom

[May 14, 2011]  KIRKUK, Iraq (AP) -- Police say a Christian man in a northern Iraqi city has been kidnapped and is being held for a $100,000 ransom.

Kirkuk deputy police chief Maj. Gen. Torhan Abdul-Rahman said the victim is a construction worker who did not come home from work Friday night. When officials called his mobile phone on Saturday, the kidnappers answered and demanded the money.

Parliament lawmaker Imad Yohanna, a Christian from Kirkuk, said the man was kidnapped because he is Christian. Yohanna said Christians are seen as easy targets because they usually pay ransom without a fight, as opposed to Arabs whose tribes generally attack to free the victim.

Abdul-Rahman said 43 people from different ethnic groups have been kidnapped in Kirkuk this year.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.