Iraq govt defends Interior Ministry over kidnap

BAGHDAD, Nov 14 (Reuters) Iraq's government said the Interior Ministry had set up a crisis group to track down dozens of hostages seized by men dressed in police uniforms from a higher education ministry building today.

The Interior Ministry, which is controlled by Shi'ites, has repeatedly denied charges of links to Shi'ite militias blamed by Sunni Arabs and Washington for operating death and kidnapping squads.

Witnesses said the gunmen who conducted today's raid drove the type of pickup trucks used by police commandos and were wearing police uniforms. Higher Education Minister Abd Dhiab said they claimed they were from the Interior Ministry.

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh played down reports that the number of men seized was up to 100, as Dhiab had said.

''We believe the number of hostages is 45 to 50, not exceeding 50,'' Dabbagh told Reuters, adding that 20 of those originally taken had later been released.

''The Ministry of Interior has set up a crisis group of senior officials and they are checking with all the police in that sector,'' said Dabbagh, the chief spokesman for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shi'ite Islamist who has struggled to clamp down on militias linked to his allies.

''The Ministry of Interior is taking every measure and moving towards some Baghdad areas where they suspect the hostages are being held,'' Dabbagh said, declining to say which areas.

Dhiab, a member of a Sunni Arab political party, said earlier some of those released had said they were driven to the Shi'ite militia stronghold of Sadr City in eastern Baghdad.

Dabbagh said police in the Karrada district where the kidnapping took place were being questioned.

''There is a great effort under way to get people back and return them to their homes. The minister himself is questioning all the officers in charge of that sector,'' he said.

After a mass kidnapping at a factory in early October, the government removed a number of senior police officers who had responsibility for the area and took an entire brigade of police out of service for vetting and re-training.

REUTERS SY RAI2216