cut
04-08-2004, 12:42 PM
Korean hostages released in Iraq
Seven South Koreans who were kidnapped in Iraq have been released unharmed, South Korea's YTN-TV channel reports.
South Korea's foreign ministry said the missionaries had been abducted while en route from Jordan to Baghdad.
Elsewhere in Iraq, three Japanese civilians and two Arab Israelis were also kidnapped by gunmen.
The Arab TV station al-Jazeera aired footage of the three Japanese, whom it said were being held captive by a previously unknown Iraqi group.
The group, the Mujahideen Brigades, threatened to burn the hostages alive if Japanese troops remain in Iraq.
YTN-TV did not mention the status of the other hostages.
Tokyo has said that it is firm in its resolve to keep troops In Iraq despite the threat, which the hostage takers will be carried out unless Japanese troops are removed within three days.
Concern is also growing about the whereabouts of a British civilian who disappeared in the southern town of Nasiriya on Tuesday.
Withdraw your forces from our country and go home or we will burn them alive and feed them to the fighters
Mujahideen Brigades' statement
It was not clear whether the incidents were connected.
The alleged kidnappings came as US-led coalition soldiers across Iraq were engaged in fresh clashes with Sunni and Shia militants.
The violence has left up to 300 Iraqis dead and at least 30 coalition troops dead.
In other developments:
Iraqi Interior Minister Nuri Badran announces his resignation. Mr Badran, a Shia, said top Iraq administrator Paul Bremer wanted to redress an imbalance between Shias and Sunnis within the Iraqi Governing Council - but he was also "not satisfied with the performance of the interior ministry".
Street fighting continues in the Sunni town of Falluja where US troops launched a big operation on Monday.
US helicopters destroy the Baghdad offices of radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr.
Top US commander in Iraq General Ricardo Sanchez says the US-led coalition will "imminently" regain control of the holy city of Kut, currently in the hands of militiamen loyal to Mr Sadr.
No withdrawal
Japan has about 550 troops on "non-combat" mission in Iraq. Their base in the southern town of Sumawa was attacked on Wednesday evening.
About 500 South Korean army medics and engineers are currently deployed in Nasiriya.
The BBC's Jonathan Head in Tokyo says the hostage-taking will be a "wrenching experience" for Japan.
It will put extreme pressure on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who took the decision to send the troops, despite the extreme misgivings of many Japanese citizens, our correspondent says.
South Korea is also preparing to send a combat-ready force of 3,000, but its deployment was delayed last month because of the deteriorating situation.
Sending troops to Iraq has been controversial amid signs of strain in the long military alliance between South Korea and the United States.
Threat
The video shows the two Japanese men and a woman - sometimes blindfolded - in a room surrounded by gunmen. It is not known where they were picked up.
The TV said the hostages included a journalist and an aid worker.
A statement by the Mujahideen Brigades said Japan had betrayed Iraqis by backing the US occupation of Iraq.
"We tell you that three of your children have fallen prisoner in our hands and we give you two options - withdraw your forces from our country and go home or we will burn them alive and feed them to the fighters," it said.
"You have three days from the date of this tape's airing."
The South Korean priests were seized in the Sunni heartland to the west of Baghdad.
South Korea's foreign ministry said one of the South Koreans had managed to escape and raised the alarm.
It is not clear which group is responsible for this or what its demands are.
An Iranian television station broadcast photographs of documents, including Israeli identity cards, it said belong to two Israeli Arabs that had been kidnapped in Iraq, Israeli media reported.
The al-Alam TV station said the men were Christians from East Jerusalem who had been kidnapped by the Ansar ad-Din group.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/3611397.stm
Published: 2004/04/08 16:34:22 GMT
© BBC MMIV
Seven South Koreans who were kidnapped in Iraq have been released unharmed, South Korea's YTN-TV channel reports.
South Korea's foreign ministry said the missionaries had been abducted while en route from Jordan to Baghdad.
Elsewhere in Iraq, three Japanese civilians and two Arab Israelis were also kidnapped by gunmen.
The Arab TV station al-Jazeera aired footage of the three Japanese, whom it said were being held captive by a previously unknown Iraqi group.
The group, the Mujahideen Brigades, threatened to burn the hostages alive if Japanese troops remain in Iraq.
YTN-TV did not mention the status of the other hostages.
Tokyo has said that it is firm in its resolve to keep troops In Iraq despite the threat, which the hostage takers will be carried out unless Japanese troops are removed within three days.
Concern is also growing about the whereabouts of a British civilian who disappeared in the southern town of Nasiriya on Tuesday.
Withdraw your forces from our country and go home or we will burn them alive and feed them to the fighters
Mujahideen Brigades' statement
It was not clear whether the incidents were connected.
The alleged kidnappings came as US-led coalition soldiers across Iraq were engaged in fresh clashes with Sunni and Shia militants.
The violence has left up to 300 Iraqis dead and at least 30 coalition troops dead.
In other developments:
Iraqi Interior Minister Nuri Badran announces his resignation. Mr Badran, a Shia, said top Iraq administrator Paul Bremer wanted to redress an imbalance between Shias and Sunnis within the Iraqi Governing Council - but he was also "not satisfied with the performance of the interior ministry".
Street fighting continues in the Sunni town of Falluja where US troops launched a big operation on Monday.
US helicopters destroy the Baghdad offices of radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr.
Top US commander in Iraq General Ricardo Sanchez says the US-led coalition will "imminently" regain control of the holy city of Kut, currently in the hands of militiamen loyal to Mr Sadr.
No withdrawal
Japan has about 550 troops on "non-combat" mission in Iraq. Their base in the southern town of Sumawa was attacked on Wednesday evening.
About 500 South Korean army medics and engineers are currently deployed in Nasiriya.
The BBC's Jonathan Head in Tokyo says the hostage-taking will be a "wrenching experience" for Japan.
It will put extreme pressure on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who took the decision to send the troops, despite the extreme misgivings of many Japanese citizens, our correspondent says.
South Korea is also preparing to send a combat-ready force of 3,000, but its deployment was delayed last month because of the deteriorating situation.
Sending troops to Iraq has been controversial amid signs of strain in the long military alliance between South Korea and the United States.
Threat
The video shows the two Japanese men and a woman - sometimes blindfolded - in a room surrounded by gunmen. It is not known where they were picked up.
The TV said the hostages included a journalist and an aid worker.
A statement by the Mujahideen Brigades said Japan had betrayed Iraqis by backing the US occupation of Iraq.
"We tell you that three of your children have fallen prisoner in our hands and we give you two options - withdraw your forces from our country and go home or we will burn them alive and feed them to the fighters," it said.
"You have three days from the date of this tape's airing."
The South Korean priests were seized in the Sunni heartland to the west of Baghdad.
South Korea's foreign ministry said one of the South Koreans had managed to escape and raised the alarm.
It is not clear which group is responsible for this or what its demands are.
An Iranian television station broadcast photographs of documents, including Israeli identity cards, it said belong to two Israeli Arabs that had been kidnapped in Iraq, Israeli media reported.
The al-Alam TV station said the men were Christians from East Jerusalem who had been kidnapped by the Ansar ad-Din group.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/3611397.stm
Published: 2004/04/08 16:34:22 GMT
© BBC MMIV