Qatari hunters kidnapped in Iraq

Gunmen have kidnapped at least 26 Qatari hunters in a desert area of Iraq near the Saudi border, officials say, reports BBC.

The attackers were driving "about 50" four-wheel drive vehicles when they swept into the hunters` camp at dawn on Wednesday, an Iraqi source told the BBC`s Arabic service.

They struck in the Layyah area, 130km south of Samawa, after arriving from Nasiriya province, the source said.

A wide-scale search has been launched for the attackers, police say.