Back from the brink?

There are many unresolved questions. But, this seems like exceptional news. If PM Maliki has pulled this apparent attack back from the brink, then this might be the biggest success after on of the biggest potential disasters.

CNN:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Most of those kidnapped Tuesday from a Baghdad research institute have been freed, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official told CNN.

It was unclear whether those released represented all of those abducted, because the ministry did not know how many were kidnapped, the official said.

No one was killed and no one was tortured, he said. Al-Iraqiya state television was also reporting most of the hostages had been released.

Earlier, as many as 80 gunmen clad in old and new Iraqi National Police uniforms kidnapped the people at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research/Scholarships and Cultural Relations Directorate building in central Baghdad, according to Higher Education Minister Abed Dhiyab al-Ajili.

The Iraqi interior minister ordered the arrests and interrogations of several high-ranking police officers over their handling of security in the area.