Iraqi group says abducts 9 policemen, soldiers-Web

DUBAI, May 7 (Reuters) The self-styled Islamic State inIraq, an al Qaeda-led militant group, said today it was holding nine Iraqi police and defence personnel and demanded the release of all Sunni Muslim women prisoners to free them.

The group, calling itself ''the soldiers of the Islamic State in the Diyala (governorate)'', said in a statement posted on the Internet that those arrested included high-ranking officers.

It also posted a video showing the men wearing uniforms on a Web site used by Iraqi insurgent groups and said it gave the Shi'ite-led government 72 hours to meet its demands that included handing over officers involved in the alleged rape of Sabreen Janabi, a Sunni Muslim woman.

The group also demanded that the government hand over officers it said were involved in atrocities against Sunni Muslims in the northern town of Tal Afar. It gave no details.

In March the bodies of 14 Diyala-based policemen abducted by the group were found shot in the head. The group said then it killed the officers after the government ignored similar demands for their release.

Janabi has said she was raped by officers from the Shi'ite-dominated police force. The government said then that medical records showed she was not raped.

In the video, four policemen were shown kneeling with five officers standing behind them with the flag of the self-styled state in the background.

The group gave their names and one of the officers urged fellow servicemen to quit.

REUTERS SYU PM1945