Iraq: Gunmen snatch female journalist from her Baghdad home

Published December 27, 2016

Associated Press

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Iraqi security forces search cars in Baghdad's southwestern Saydiyah neighborhood a day after journalist Afrah Shawqi al-Qaisi was kidnapped, in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. Late Monday night unidentified gunmen broke into the house of al-Qaisi, a journalist and activist in Baghdad and kidnapped her, Iraq's Interior Ministry said on Tuesday, a reminder of the dangers journalists face in a country where authorities have struggled to maintain security nationwide. (AP Photo/ Karim Kadim) (The Associated Press)

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Protesters chant slogans demanding the release of kidnapped journalist Afrah Shawqi al-Qaisi, seen in posters, during a demonstration, in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. Late Monday night unidentified gunmen broke into the house of al-Qaisi, a journalist and activist in Baghdad and kidnapped her, Iraq's Interior Ministry said on Tuesday, a reminder of the dangers journalists face in a country where authorities have struggled to maintain security nationwide. (AP Photo/ Karim Kadim) (The Associated Press)

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Protesters chant slogans demanding the release of kidnapped journalist Afrah Shawqi al-Qaisi, seen in posters, during a demonstration, in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. Late Monday night unidentified gunmen broke into the house of al-Qaisi, a journalist and activist in Baghdad and kidnapped her, Iraq's Interior Ministry said on Tuesday, a reminder of the dangers journalists face in a country where authorities have struggled to maintain security nationwide. (AP Photo/ Karim Kadim) (The Associated Press)

Iraq's Interior Ministry says unidentified gunmen have broken into the house of a female journalist and activist in Baghdad and kidnapped her.

Tuesday's statement didn't give details on the circumstances surrounding the abduction of Afrah Shawqi al-Qaisi from her house late Monday night in Baghdad' southwestern Saydiyah neighborhood. Al-Qaisi, a veteran journalist and an employee of the Iraqi Culture Ministry, is considered one of the critics of the country's endemic corruption.

Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered the security forces to investigate the kidnapping and to "exert the utmost effort" to save her.

War-torn Iraq is considered one of the most dangerous countries for journalists, who have been frequently targeted by militant groups since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

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