سخنگوی دولت عراق از آزادی ‪ ۳۷‬تن از ربوده‌شدگان حادثه دیروز (سه‌شنبه) آدم ربایی در ساختمان یکی از بخش‌های وابسته به وزارت آموزش عالی و پژوهش علمی عراق خبر داد. علی الدباغ روزچهارشنبه درگفت‌وگو با خبرنگاران دربغداد افزود: عملیات مشترک نیروهای وزارت کشور و دفاع عراق برای یافتن ربوده‌شدگان و شناسایی آدم ربایان تاکنون منجر به آزادی ‪ ۳۷‬نفر شده است. وی ادامه داد که در جریان آزادی گروگانها از دست گروگانگیران دو تن از افراد ربوده شده به قتل رسیدند. وی درباره شمار ربوده‌شدگان که برخلاف گزارش‌های اولیه ‪ ۱۵۰‬نفر عنوان شده بود ، گفت که تعداد ربوده‌شدگان از ‪ ۵۰‬نفر تجاوز نمی‌کند. سخنگوی دولت عراق تاکید کرد که عملیات جستجو تا آزادی تمامی ربوده شدگان و دستگیر عوامل این آدم ربایی و مجازات آنها ادامه پیدا می‌کند. وی از ارایه جزییات عملیات جستجوی مشترک نیروهای وزارت کشور و دفاع به دلایل امنیتی خودداری کرد. همچنین از سوی دیگر نوری المالکی نخست وزیر عراق نیز در دیدار با جمعی از دانشجویان و اساتید دانشگاه بغداد بدنبال اعلام این خبر افزود: با وجود آنکه بیشتر گروگانها آزاد شده اند این برای ما کافی نیست و ربایندگان را تا آخرین نفر تعقیب میکنیم تا به سزای این عمل جنایتکارانه شان برسند. ما از این اتفاق متاسفیم و دولت شدیدا نسبت به آن واکنش نشان داده است.یک گروه مسلح ناشناس روز گذشته با محاصره ساختمان اعزامهای وزارت آموزش عالی عراق در منطقه "کراده" در مرکز بغداد تعداد زیادی از کارکنان و مراجعین مرد موجود در داخل ساختمان را ربود. Iraqi gov"t: "About 40" hostages freed By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer 17 minutes ago BAGHDAD, Iraq - Most of the people abducted in a brazen raid on the offices of the Higher Education Ministry have been released, Iraqi"s prime minister said Wednesday, but officials were unable to say how many remained captive. ADVERTISEMENT Dozens of people were taken Tuesday — the men handcuffed and loaded aboard about 20 pickup trucks — by gunmen dressed in the uniforms of Interior Ministry commandos. "Most of the hostages were freed, but that is not enough for us. We will chase those who did this ugly criminal act," Nouri al-Maliki said as he met professors and students at Baghdad University to show support for the country"s educational institutions. "We regret what happened yesterday. The government"s reaction was strong." Government ministries have given wildly varying figures on the number of kidnap victims in the assault in central Baghdad, with reports ranging from a high of about 150 to a low of 40 to 50. "The (Higher Education) ministry confirms the release of a group of employees, guards, visitors who were kidnapped yesterday. The information available to the ministry indicates that the number of the people released as of Wednesday morning is about 40. There is another group that is still held," the ministry said in a statement. Elsewhere, a car bomb killed at least 11 people and wounded at least 32 near a gasoline station in central Baghdad"s Bab Shargi area, police Lt. Bilal Ali said. And the U.S. military announced the combat deaths of four troops — a soldier and three Marines — in the insurgent stronghold of Anbar Province, raising the number of American war dead to 2,856. Gunmen fatally shot two journalists, one in the northern city of Mosul and a second in Baqouba. In Mosul, gunmen intercepted the car of journalist Fadia Mohammed al-Taie, killing her and her driver, police said. Al-Taie worked as a reporter for the independent weekly newspaper al-Massar. In Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, another Iraqi journalist, Luma al-Karkhi, who worked for the independent weekly al-Dustor, was shot dead while on her way to work. With the slayings of al-Taie and al-Karkhi, at least 91 journalists have been killed in Iraq since hostilities began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count based on statistics kept by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. Also, 36 other media employees, including drivers, interpreters and guards, have been killed — all of them Iraqi except for one Lebanese. Iraqi officials continued to offer varying figures in the kidnapping. Government spokesman Ali al Dabbagh said 37 people were released and a smaller but unspecified number were still in captivity, state-run Iraqiyah television said. The Higher Education Ministry said the confusion over the number of victims arose out of the difficulties in determining just how many employees, guards and visitors were in the building during the assault. A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information, said there still was no exact number available. Police Lt. Mohammed Kheyoun said, however, that "about 15 to 20 persons are still held by the kidnappers. The search for them is under way, and we hope that we will find them in suspected areas in eastern Baghdad." Al-Jazeera, the Arabic-language network, quoted Maha Abdullah, a woman described as a sister of one of the captives, as saying he and at least 10 other people remained in custody. "The government"s news that most of them were released is false," Abdullah said. After Tuesday"s attack on his ministry, Higher Education Minister Abed Theyab ordered university classes suspended, complaining that the government had ignored his calls for greater security. He later rescinded the order when the Interior and Defense ministries promised increased patrols. Al-Maliki told the students Wednesday that, "I hope you will continue your study resolutely and not bow to those who want to paralyze our universities." The U.S. military said a soldier assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division and the three Marines assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7 died Tuesday. On Wednesday, in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, gunmen shot dead a police officer in a drive-by shooting as he was heading to work, said police Capt. Farhad Talabani. In the eastern province of Diyala, gunmen stormed the house of the governor"s secretary late Tuesday killing his brother, police said. The intended target of the attack was not at home.