Experts think kidnapping might be related to Egyptian support in Iraq
CAIRO: A worker for the Egyptian embassy in Baghdad disappeared on Monday the Foreign Ministry said.
Foreign Ministry Press Spokesman Alaa Al Hadidi issued a statement announcing the disappearance of the embassy employee, adding that Egyptian security officials were in contact with their Iraqi counterparts to ascertain the circumstances of the disappearance.
In addition, Al Hadidi said, the Foreign Ministry contacted the Iraqi delegation in Egypt in an attempt to ensure the safe return of the embassy worker.
The worker’s name has not been released.
Although the reasons for the disappearance are not yet unclear, there are suspicions that it might be related to recent stances in Egyptian foreign policy.
Mohammed Abdel-Salam, an Iraq expert at Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies told The Daily Star Egypt that “the situation is not yet understood. Is it related to Egyptian support for the recent change in US policy towards Iraq, or is it just part of the everyday violence and kidnappings that occur in Iraq? It is not known, but it being due to the former is very plausible.
An Iraqi Foreign Ministry official told AP that the worker was kidnapped while on a trip outside the Egyptian embassy compound and did not return to work. The official added that the worker, whose name has not been released, was a diplomat and a member of the administrative staff at the embassy.
The official said “The Egyptian embassy contacted the foreign ministry to say that one of its diplomats had been kidnapped.
Abdel-Salam does not believe the latest incident will strain Egyptian-Iraqi relations. “Everybody understands that the situation in Iraq is out of control, and even out of the government’s control. Egypt understands that if it is to play a part in Iraq, this sort of thing could happen.
Egyptian diplomat Ihab Al-Sherif was kidnapped and killed in Iraq in July 2005 by what many believe to be Shia armed groups, although the Iraqi government never conducted an investigation. Al-Sharif was abducted while on his way to a meeting with members of the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS), a Sunni group.
“This isn’t the first time it happens, Abdel-Salam said, “but the third. First an Egyptian diplomat was kidnapped and later released and then the ambassador was killed.
