Three members of Iraq PM's family kidnapped

Three members of the Iraqi prime minister's family were abducted from their Baghdad home, police said today.

Three members of the Iraqi prime minister's family were abducted from their Baghdad home, police said today.

Lt. Col. Maan Khalaf said gunmen kidnapped three relatives of Ayad Allawi from their home in the western Qadisiyah neighborhood yesterday evening.

The missing include Allawi's cousin, his cousin's wife and his cousin's daughter-in-law, he said.

Hundreds of Iraqis have been kidnapped in recent months, mainly by groups demanding ransom payments.

More than 170 foreigners have been kidnapped by insurgents in Iraq since Saddam Hussein's regime fell in April 2003. More than 30 foreign hostages have been killed. Many of the kidnappers pursue political motives such as the withdrawal of foreign companies and troops from Iraq.