Mass kidnapping at Iraq Ministry. posted by Richard Seymour

What's this? Gunmen in army uniforms have kidnapped 100 people in Iraq's Ministry of Education. The BBC mentions that academics have been targeted for assassination in particular (it doesn't mention that these have often been critics of the occupation), but this doesn't look like that kind of attack. This is either the beginning of a coup attempt or a deliberate strike in a civil war. It's believed to have been carried out by members of "Shia Muslim-dominated security forces", which means it's the Badr Corps, one of the most violent sectarian forces operating in Iraq today, and happily integrated into the Ministry of Interior by the CIA.

Keep your eye on this story.

Update: The Guardian says the uniforms these guys were wearing were those of "interior ministry commandos" and wore the blue insignia of the "police commandos". They allegedly had a "list of names" of those to be abducted, and claimed to be on an officially sponsored anti-corruption mission. The Special Police Commandos, as I have repeatedly pointed out, are units led by former Ba'athists created by the CIA in order to conduct 'counterinsurgency' missions.