Unknown gunmen abducted Tuesday more than 40 people, including tribal leaders and prominent persons from two Shiite towns in north of Baghdad, provincial police said.

"Unidentified gunmen ambushed a convoy of some 16 minibuses and kidnapped up to 42 people, including tribal leaders and prominent persons from the towns of Balad and Dujail," spokesman of the Joint Coordination Center of Salahudin province told Xinhua.

The convoy was carrying a delegation heading to Baghdad to meet Iraq's top officials, including Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, when they were attacked by gunmen in Tarmiya area, some 40 km north of Baghdad.

Source: Xinhua