Child freed, kidnapper arrested in Karbala

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: A six-year-old child on Sunday was freed one hour after he was kidnapped in front of his school in downtown Karbala city, according to a local police chief. “Our forces have managed to release the child one hour after he had been kidnapped by two men and taken to al-Husaiyniya district (20 km north of Karbala),” Staff Maj. Gen. Ali Jassem Mohammed told IraqiNews.com news agency. “During an exchange of gunfire, one of the kidnappers was wounded, while the other escaped, leaving the child behind,” Mohammed added, explaining that the child was kidnapped for ransom. The Shiite city of Karbala lies 110 southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. SS (P) 1