One Iraqi diplomat killed, Tokyo forms a crisis cell

The Japanese prime minister refused to withdraw his forces deployed in Iraq in response to demands by al-Jihad al-Qaida group in Mesopotamia ( former al-Tawhid Wal Jihad) group for releasing one Japanese hostage it holds. But Tokyo announced the formation of a crisis cell with the aim of dealing with this issue.

The group on which Washington says it is led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi stressed that the kidnapped man is working within the Japanese forces deployed in southern Iraq and it was found out that he entered Israel and then Jordan from where he arrived in Iraq, promised to show documents proving that.

In Baghdad, one source in the Iraqi foreign ministry said that a high ranking Iraqi diplomat was killed by bullets on Wednesday at the hands of gunmen who were not identified after they had tried to kidnap him.

The source which asked to be anonymous said that Qusai Mahdi ( 55 year old) was exposed to kidnapping by four armed men and after they were sure that their operation is a failure, they killed him by two bullets. One went into his head.

The source explained that Mahdi who was a charge de affairs in the United Arab Emirates from June to September 2004 had joined the ministry in Baghdad waiting for joining a new post.

The source indicated that the ministry of the interior is interrogating the incident. The Islamic army in Iraq in a statement claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt.