Seven civil society activists, who were kidnapped in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, have now been freed, the country’s interior ministry said on Wednesday.

So far there are no further details.

Security sources and a civil society leader told Agence France-Presse on Tuesday that armed men have kidnapped seven young Iraqi anti-corruption activists in central Baghdad.

“Unidentified gunmen in SUVs abducted seven university students early Monday morning,” an interior ministry official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The activists were energetic in peaceful protests against corruption. Some other activists see the kidnapping as a political tool to drain off the protest movement.

Almost every week, thousands of protesters have gathered in Baghdad, usually a few blocks from where the kidnapping took place, and across cities in southern Iraq for anti- corruption rallies.

source: Alarabiya