Iraqi national guard foils kidnapping of six Turks

BAGHDAD, Sept 27 (AFP) - The Iraqi national guard thwarted the kidnapping of six Turks on a highway north of Baghdad Monday, the US military said.
"The Turkish nationals are employees of a Kellogg Brown and Root sub-contractor and had hired a driver to take them to Turkey for rest and recuperation," it said in a statement.
National guardsmen patrolling the area opened fire on the insurgents, who fled the scene, it said, adding that the driver of the vehicle was being questioned by US-led forces.
Turkish nationals working in Iraq, often as truck drivers, have been a prime targets for kidnappers operating on roads across the country.
Monday's incident took place near the town of Dujail, which lies on a major supply road between Baghdad and the north of Iraq and has been the scene of countless abductions and armed attacks on civilian and military vehicles.
Kellogg Brown and Root is a unit of Houston-based energy giant Halliburton, once headed by US Vice President Dick Cheney.