By NNN-KUNA
London : The UK Foreign Office said Tuesday it was “urgently” looking into reports that a western journalist – said to be British – has been kidnapped in Iraq.
Reports from Iraq said a British employee of US network CBS and his interpreter had been seized by gunmen last Sunday. The pair were reportedly kidnapped near their hotel in Basra.
The British Foreign Office said it was investigating the report.
A spokeswoman said, “We are aware of reports of a western national missing in Basra and we are urgently looking into it.”
A CBS News spokeswoman meanwhile said, “Two journalists working for CBS News in Basra are missing … All efforts are underway to find them and until we learn more details, CBS News requests that others do not speculate on the identities of those involved.”
Figures from the press freedom campaign group “Reporters Sans Frontieres” show that last year, 47 journalists and nine media assistants were killed in Iraq.
It brought the total number of journalists killed in the country since the 2003 invasion to 153, with media assistant casualties recorded at 29.
Meanwhile, three US congressmen visited the Multi-National Security Transition Command near the Iraqi capital, BAGHDAD.
According to a US Army press release on Tuesday, Senator John Ensign, Senator Tom Coburn, and Senator Jim DeMint visited the camp with the intent of meeting “with US and Iraqi government leaders.”
“The group of congressional representatives visited Besmaya Range Complex where Iraqi Army Colonel Abbas, base commanding officer, provided them with a briefing about the complex. They then viewed the BMP-1 Driver Instruction Course and the M-16 firing range,” added the army.
“I am very impressed with the improvement of military capability,” said Coburn who “participated in the BMP-1 Driver Instruction Course and learned how to start the engine of the BMP-1.”
Abbas told the group of congressional representatives to converse with Iraqi soldiers and get their perspective on training received at the complex.