BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An Iraqi television journalist was kidnapped on Friday after leaving his home in Baghdad, Iraq's Journalistic Freedoms Observatory said.
Muntazer al-Zaidi, a correspondent for al-Baghdadiya television station, disappeared after leaving his home in a busy area of central Baghdad, the non-governmental organization said in a statement.
Zaidi's family said they had called his mobile phone in the afternoon, and confirmed he had been abducted, the group said. But his family did not receive any specific demands for his release. Zaidi is 26-years-old, it added.
"The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory asks Zaidi's kidnappers once more for his swift release for humanitarian reasons," the group said in a statement.
Journalists in Iraq have been target of threats from Sunni Arab militants and Shi'ite militias. Others have been killed by U.S. forces while reporting in the country.
According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 122 journalists and 41 media support staff have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
About 85 percent of those killed were Iraqis.
(Writing by Missy Ryan; Editing by Alison Williams)
