Kidnappings, bombings hit Basra

BASRA - Four people were kidnapped Wednesday in Basra, including an Iraqi oil worker – the latest in a series of violent incidents that have prompted provincial leaders to revise security plans.

Iraq's oil capital is far south of the territory controlled by militants of the so-called Islamic State (IS), whose war against the Iraqi state has effectively shut down the country's northern oil sector. To counter that threat, many Basra security force regulars have been called up north, leaving something of a security vacuum in the south.