BAGHDAD - A cousin of Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, the cousin's wife and his daughter-in-law were kidnapped on Tuesday evening from their house in Baghdad, a source from the premier's political party said on Wednesday.
Allawi's office confirmed that the cousin Ghazi Allawi and the daughter-in-law had been taken, but had no information on the wife. The office was due to issue a statement imminently.
Three cars with at least six men inside pulled up to the house in the southern district of Al-Kadisiya from where they took Allawi, who is a businessman, and his two family members, the source from the Iraqi National Accord said.
The attack took place at about 6:00 pm (1500 GMT).
The source, who asked to remain anonymous, had no further details about the attack, which took place just hours after the tough-talking prime minister declared a night time curfew in Baghdad in a bid to curb escalating violence.
The attack puts further pressure on the tough-talking premier after he launched a full-scale assault on the rebel-held city of Fallujah on Monday, seen as the epicentre of an insurgency that has gripped Iraq.
Scores of foreigners, caught up in a wave of kidnapping that has characterised the insurgency, have ended up in Fallujah, believed to be an operating base for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his followers - the most ruthless gang of hostage takers in Iraq.
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