Sunnis boycott parliament over kidnap of lawmaker

BAGHDAD, July 2 (Reuters) Iraq's main Sunni Arab political bloc said today it would boycott parliament until a colleague was released by gunmen who seized her in a mainly Shi'ite district of Baghdad a day earlier.

There was still no word on the fate of Taiseer Najah al-Mashhadani, of the Iraqi Accordance Front, and seven of her bodyguards, who were taken at gunpoint in northern Baghdad yesterday after two cars full of gunmen blocked their way.

''The Accordance Front bloc will boycott the sessions in parliament until she is released,'' Sunni leader Adnan al-Dulaimi said.

Politicians in other blocs urged the Sunni bloc to cancel its boycott saying it would only encourage militants to hinder the political process.

Reporters outside parliament said most of the Sunni lawmakers walked out during the session to begin their boycott.

Sunni politician Hussein al-Falluji said the Front was undeterred by the reaction of other blocs and confirmed his group would boycott the next session.

Two other members of parliament were attacked on Sunday. One, a liberal Shi'ite cleric, survived a bombing on his convoy and another, a Shi'ite Islamist, was targeted in a kidnap attempt. Her fate and those of her guards was unclear amid conflicting reports from police and Interior Ministry officials.

REUTERS CH BST1904