Gunmen in police uniforms abducted up to 50 employees of various Baghdad transport companies on Monday, police and Interior Ministry sources said.

Iraqi women stand in front of one of the transport companies, from where gunmen in police uniforms abducted up to 50 employees, in Baghdad, June 5, 2006. [Reuters]

They carried out what appeared to be a coordinated operation along a Baghdad street that is home to several companies offering transport to Syria and Jordan, police said.

The abductions came a day after Iraqi leaders failed to agree on nominees for the interior and defense posts which were left vacant when a national unity government was sworn in on May 20.

Iraq's political blocs were expected to agree on names to be presented to parliament on Sunday but a deal fell through and the assembly session was postponed, dealing a blow to new Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Political sources said Maliki's rivals in his Shi'ite Alliance had objected to his choice for interior minister.

Maliki now faces a deep political crisis over the top security posts as he tries to show Iraqis he means business about stabilizing the country.

Last week he launched a state of emergency in the southern city of Basra to crack down on gangs and feuding Shi'ite factions threatening oil exports vital to saving the economy.

But a car bomb killed at least 28 people in Basra on Saturday and Sunni politicians accused his security forces of killing nine unarmed worshippers at a mosque hours later. Police said they were fired on from the mosque.

And violence kept raging across Iraq.

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