Kidnappers have seized Egypt's envoy to Iraq, possibly in response to reports he was to become the first full-ranking Arab ambassador to the US-backed Iraqi government, diplomats and police sources said today.
Ihab el-Sherif, the head of mission, was cornered by gunmen in cars while on a short trip to buy a newspaper near his home yesterday evening and had not been heard from since, an Egyptian diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
“He was buying a newspaper yesterday evening when two BMWs full of gunmen blocked his way and kidnapped him,” he said.
“The motives are believed to be political,” he added, noting that Iraq's foreign minister had said just last week that Egypt would become the first Arab state to appoint a full-ranking ambassador to Baghdad since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry, which said it was checking reports that Sherif had disappeared, has yet to confirm it plans to upgrade his post. The Baghdad mission had no comment.
The envoy's white four-wheel drive car was standing undamaged close to a newspaper stand not far from his home.
An upgrade to full ambassadorial status for Sherif on the part of Egypt, the most populous and traditionally most powerful Arab state, could enhance the standing of a new Iraqi government many Arabs view with suspicion because of its backing from the United States and sectarian ties to Shi'ite Iran.
Washington, which sees the post-invasion election held in Iraq as a model for Arab states, has been urging other Arab governments to recognise fully the new Baghdad administration.