Unknown gunmen have kidnapped ten Sunni and Shia tribal leaders from the eastern province of Diyala in the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad.

The tribal leaders who had joined forces against al-Qaeda in Iraq were abducted Sunday as they were traveling home after a meeting with a government official in Baghdad, AP quoted police and a relative as saying.

The gunmen ambushed the two cars carrying the 10 men in Baghdad's neighborhood of Shaab at about 3:30 p.m., police officials said.

The sheiks were on their way back to Diyala province after attending a conference with the government's adviser for tribal affairs to discuss
coordinating efforts against al-Qaeda in Iraq.

They were representing a so-called Awakening Council, as the anti-al-Qaeda groups often are known, in the Salam area, due east of Baquba, a former al-Qaeda stronghold.

DT/DT