MARINO
05-21-2004, 07:44 AM
Spanish Journalist Held by Shi'ite Group in Najaf
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MADRID (*******) - A Spanish radio journalist is being held in the Iraqi city of Najaf by a Shi'ite group linked to rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, state radio reported on Friday.
Spanish National Radio said its correspondent Fran Sevilla, who reported the Spanish troops' withdrawal from their base at Diwaniya earlier on Friday, was unharmed but his telephone was about to be confiscated.
"He was intercepted by a group of militants of the Shi'ite leader al-Sadr. He phoned to say where he was, in a mosque in Najaf, and that they were going to take away his phone," state radio editor Javier Arenas told the radio. "He is physically fine."
The Spanish government said in a statement it had "begun intense efforts to put an end to this situation as soon as possible."
"Our charge d'affaires (in Baghdad) is taking all kinds of diplomatic moves," a diplomatic source said.
Forces loyal to the cleric have launched an uprising across Iraq (news - web sites) against the U.S.-led occupation while Sadr, wanted in connection with the murder of another cleric, has been holed up in Najaf.
Sevilla is a well-known Spanish journalist often sent on assignments around the world.
Earlier on Friday Sevilla reported from Diwaniya that the last of the Spanish troops had left their base and were on their way to Kuwait. He said he was the last Spaniard left in the south-central Iraqi city.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's month-old Socialist government -- elected three days after March 11 train bombings killed 191 people in Madrid -- has been withdrawing the Spanish troops, fulfilling a campaign promise made before the railway attacks.
21 minutes ago Add World - ******* to My Yahoo!
MADRID (*******) - A Spanish radio journalist is being held in the Iraqi city of Najaf by a Shi'ite group linked to rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, state radio reported on Friday.
Spanish National Radio said its correspondent Fran Sevilla, who reported the Spanish troops' withdrawal from their base at Diwaniya earlier on Friday, was unharmed but his telephone was about to be confiscated.
"He was intercepted by a group of militants of the Shi'ite leader al-Sadr. He phoned to say where he was, in a mosque in Najaf, and that they were going to take away his phone," state radio editor Javier Arenas told the radio. "He is physically fine."
The Spanish government said in a statement it had "begun intense efforts to put an end to this situation as soon as possible."
"Our charge d'affaires (in Baghdad) is taking all kinds of diplomatic moves," a diplomatic source said.
Forces loyal to the cleric have launched an uprising across Iraq (news - web sites) against the U.S.-led occupation while Sadr, wanted in connection with the murder of another cleric, has been holed up in Najaf.
Sevilla is a well-known Spanish journalist often sent on assignments around the world.
Earlier on Friday Sevilla reported from Diwaniya that the last of the Spanish troops had left their base and were on their way to Kuwait. He said he was the last Spaniard left in the south-central Iraqi city.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's month-old Socialist government -- elected three days after March 11 train bombings killed 191 people in Madrid -- has been withdrawing the Spanish troops, fulfilling a campaign promise made before the railway attacks.