It is the first abduction of the head of a diplomatic mission here, at a time when the American and Iraqi governments are vigorously pressing Arab nations to send ambassadors to Iraq.

Word of the kidnapping of the diplomat, Ihab al-Sharif, came on a day of at least one deadly car bombing.

Al-Sharif, who arrived here just a month ago, was seized as he was driving alone in his white Jeep Cherokee through the Jamia neighborhood of Baghdad, where he lived, an Interior Ministry official said. He was unaccompanied by guards, and no group has claimed responsibility for abducting him.

Several Egyptians have been kidnapped and released in Baghdad in the last year, including one lower-ranking diplomat, as part of a rash of kidnappings of foreigners and Iraqis that in many instances have been done for cash ransoms.

Al-Sharif had been designated to become Egypt's ambassador, an appointment that would have created an important diplomatic bond between Iraq and one of the Arab world's most influential countries, and help bestowed legitimacy on the Iraqi government.

The kidnappers may have been trying to send a warning to Egypt and other Arab nations that are considering strengthening diplomatic ties.

The Iraqi Islamic Party, a prominent Sunni Arab political group based in Baghdad, condemned the abduction and demanded the Egyptian's release.

The insurgency here is largely led by Sunni Arabs, and the Iraqi Islamic Party is believed to have some influence among the fighters.