Kidnapper killed, 3 nabbed in Kirkuk

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: A security force killed the chief of a gang of kidnappers, arrested three of its members and freed two students taken hostage in a security operation north of Kirkuk city. “The operation took place at Shwan district, (30 km) north of Kirkuk,” General Jamal Tahir, the Kirkuk police director, told IraqiNews.com news agency on Thursday. He said that the gang’s head is an Iraqi army captain. The oil-rich city of Kirkuk lies 250 km northeast of Baghdad. MH (P)/AmR 1