15 July 2004, Volume  7, Number  26

INSIDE IRAQ

MILITANTS KIDNAP POLITICAL PARTY LEADER.

Unidentified militants kidnapped the head of the Free Iraqi Society Party in Baghdad on 10 July, MENA reported. Abd al-Muhsin Shalash was kidnapped from the party headquarters after militants destroyed computers and other equipment. It is unclear why Shalash might be targeted; his political group was established in April 2003 and calls for the return of a constitutional monarchy to Iraq. Fadil al-Khafaji, a member of the party's political bureau, told alwatan.com.sa that 10 gunmen abducted Shalash after ransacking the party's offices, the website reported on 12 July. Shalash recently announced his candidacy for president in the January elections and distributed flyers that carried his biography and photo in several Iraqi cities. (For more on the Free Iraqi Society Party, see

http://www.rferl.org/specials/IraqCrisis/specials-politicalgroups2.asp). (Kathleen Ridolfo)