New deadline set for German hostages

Iraqi militants holding a German woman and her adult son hostage said yesterday they were giving Germany a new deadline of 10 days to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan or the two would be killed.

The Arrows of Righteousness group posted a video on the Internet showing Hannelore Marianne Krause urging Germans to press their government to heed the demands of the militants. She broke down in tears at one stage.

The group had issued an earlier ultimatum on March 10 that it would kill the pair if Berlin failed to pull out its troops from Afghanistan. The two were seized from their home in western Baghdad in early February.