Gunmen kidnap 13 Iraqis at fake checkpoint-source

BAGHDAD, Oct 3 (Reuters) Gunmen kidnapped 13 Iraqi men today after stopping four cars at a fake checkpoint in the town of Khalis, 80 km north of Baghdad, a security source said.

The source said the cars were travelling from the city of Baquba towards Kirkuk further north in Iraq. He said women travelling in the cars were left behind.

Militants in Iraq often target people from different sects and mass abductions are not uncommon. There was no immediate information on which group was behind the kidnapping, nor the identity of those taken.

REUTERS SKB HS1607