World News: Egyptian Ambassador Kidnapped

Egypt's ambassador to Iraq, Ihab al-Sherif, was kidnapped recently in Baghdad.

The Egyptian diplomat had only been in Iraq for a few weeks, when according to eyewitness reports, two BMWs full of masked gunmen blocked his way and abducted him late Saturday night while purchasing a newspaper. Al-Sherif was there as part of U.S. backed efforts to sanction high ranking diplomats from Iraq's neighboring countries.

Although no insurgent organization has claimed responsibility for the abduction, both the leading Iraqi-Sunni organization and the Iraqi Islamic Party are strongly condemning the culprits and calling for al-Sherif's immediate release.

Ihab al-Sherif was to be the first Arab ambassador in Iraq since the new government took office, and the first diplomat to hold the title of Ambassador to Egypt in Iraq since 1991, when Egypt pulled their ambassador out of Iraq in order to support the United State's invasion.

As a result, most political analysts believe that the kidnapping will strongly discourage the few cooperative neighboring governments in the Middle East from sending high ranking diplomats to Baghdad in the near future.