French journalist kidnapped in Iraq

PARIS, April 13 (AFP) – A French journalist from the CAPA television news agency, Alexandre Jordanov, has been kidnapped in Iraq, the station’s head said Tuesday.

Jordanov, 40, was kidnapped on Sunday 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Baghdad along with his cameraman Ivan Ceriex, who was later released, according to CAPA head Herve Chabalier.

The team had been filming a documentary programme for French pay-TV channel Canal Plus.

An estimated 40 foreigners from the United States and 11 other countries in Europe and Asia are believed to have been kidnapped by insurgents in Iraq, the US-led coalition announced on Tuesday.

The French government on Tuesday advised its citizens in Iraq to leave the country, with Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin saying that the situation there had developed “as we had feared”.