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Kidnappers threaten to kill Christian hostages
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-03 09:14
The kidnappers of four Christian peace activists threatened to kill the
hostages unless all prisoners in U.S. and Iraqi detention centers are released,
according to a videotape broadcast Friday by Al-Jazeera television.
Women hold candles
Friday, Dec. 2, 2005 in Glonn, southern Germany, in commemoration of
kidnapped archeologist Susanne Osthoff as they stand next to a picture of
the woman, who has disappeared a week ago in northern Iraq. The fate of
Osthoff is still unknown. [AP] |
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The tape showed what the broadcaster said were two Canadian hostages. An
American and a Briton are also being held. In a statement delivered with the
tape, the kidnappers gave the two governments until Dec. 8 to meet their
demands, according to Al-Jazeera.
The Canadians were shown eating from plates of what appeared to be Arabic
sweets. In a second clip, the British and American hostages were shown to
talking to the camera, but no audio was transmitted. All four men appeared
frightened.
The hostages called on the U.S. and British governments to withdraw from
Iraq, Al-Jazeera reported, quoting the statement from the kidnappers, who
earlier identified themselves as the Swords of Righteousness Brigade, a
previously unknown group.
The corner of the video showed two crossed black swords and the name of the
insurgent group written in red Arabic script ¡ª the same emblem shown in an
earlier video of the hostages.
The group has claimed that the kidnapped men, from the Chicago-based
Christian Peacemaker Teams, were spies working under the cover of peace
activists. The group denied spying.
Greg Rollins, a Canadian member of Christian Peacemaker Teams, said news of
the death threat was disturbing.
"It's a bit of a shock," said Rollins, who had not yet seen the new video. He
said he hoped the kidnappers would respond to messages of support from Muslims
and other Arabs for the group, which opposes the war in Iraq.
"Hopefully they will continue to read those things and get a positive idea of
what we do here and who my teammates are."
The activists were seized Nov. 26 near Baghdad University. A car blocked
their car, gunmen got out, threw the driver and translator out and drove away
with the four Westerners, security officials said Thursday. The officials spoke
on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media.
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