Gunmen kidnapped two Iraqi journalists working for a local television in central Baghdad on Wednesday, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

"Unknown armed men in a car intercepted the car of Marwan Khazal and female journalist Reem Zaid at about 12:20 p.m. (0920 GMT) in the al-Qadisiyah neighborhood," the source said on condition of anonymity.

The gunmen dragged the journalists, who work for the al- Sumariyah television, out from their car and took them away.

Kidnapping is ravaging the violence-torn country. Insurgents often kidnap foreigners to press foreign occupation forces to quit the country, and in some cases locals are taken hostage for ransom.

Source: Xinhua