'At least 26' Qatari nationals kidnapped in Iraq desert

Gunmen have kidnapped at least 26 Qatari nationals in the Iraqi desert near the border with Saudi Arabia, officials say.

Reuters report that two police officers in Samawa confirmed the kidnappings and said security forces launched a wide-scale search for the Qataris.

The governor of Samawa, Falih al-Zayady, said the armed men were driving "dozens of pickup trucks" and took the group - thought to be hunters - from their camp in the Busaya area of the Samawa desert.