HELEX
04-13-2004, 01:07 PM
Four Italian contractors have gone missing in Iraq just hours after eight hostages from a Russian firm were released.
The four, working for a US security firm, were taken hostage in Fallujah.
Al Jazeera broadcast a video showing the four Italians sitting on the floor with their passports, with their kidnappers standing behind them holding machine guns.
The kidnappers have called on Italy to withdraw its troops from the country.
However, Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said the withdrawal of his country's 3,000-strong military force in Iraq was "absolutely not in question"
The leading Russian contractor in Iraq has announced it is to evacuate all 370 of its staff following the kidnapping of the Russian workers, while both France and Portugal have urged their citizens to leave Iraq following the surge in violence and abductions.
The hostage crisis is Iraq has deepened despite seven Chinese workers, kidnapped in Fallujah on Sunday, being released.
It has been confirmed that two US soldiers have gone missing following an attack on a fuel convoy on Friday.
Three Japanese hostages have not been seen despite an ultimatum running out Sunday, with the latest reports suggesting that the insurgents holding them have reneged on the agreement to release them.
A spokesman for the US-led coalition said that in total, 40 hostages from 12 countries were being held.
Meanwhile, US troops arrested and later released the top aide to Shi'ite Muslim radical leader Moqtada al Sadr, Sheikh Hazem al Araji.
His detention came as al Sadr told Lebanese TV he would die for his beliefs.
He said: "I am ready to sacrifice (myself) and I call on the (Iraqi) people not to allow my death to cause the collapse of the fight for freedom and an end to the occupation."
The week-long revolt in Iraq has forced the commander of US forces in the Iraq to call for 10,000 more troops to restore order.
General John Abizaid has asked the Pentagon for an extra two combat brigades, reversing the trend of decreasing the number of troops in the country.
US troops have clashed with Sunni insurgents around Fallujah despite attempts to maintain a truce in the city, with one US marine being killed.
A senior US official said that the alleged mastermind of the Al Qaeda operations in Iraq, Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, is believed to be in Fallujah.
US President George Bush has announced he will hold a White House press conference later.
Last Updated: 16:57 UK, Tuesday April 13, 2004
The four, working for a US security firm, were taken hostage in Fallujah.
Al Jazeera broadcast a video showing the four Italians sitting on the floor with their passports, with their kidnappers standing behind them holding machine guns.
The kidnappers have called on Italy to withdraw its troops from the country.
However, Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said the withdrawal of his country's 3,000-strong military force in Iraq was "absolutely not in question"
The leading Russian contractor in Iraq has announced it is to evacuate all 370 of its staff following the kidnapping of the Russian workers, while both France and Portugal have urged their citizens to leave Iraq following the surge in violence and abductions.
The hostage crisis is Iraq has deepened despite seven Chinese workers, kidnapped in Fallujah on Sunday, being released.
It has been confirmed that two US soldiers have gone missing following an attack on a fuel convoy on Friday.
Three Japanese hostages have not been seen despite an ultimatum running out Sunday, with the latest reports suggesting that the insurgents holding them have reneged on the agreement to release them.
A spokesman for the US-led coalition said that in total, 40 hostages from 12 countries were being held.
Meanwhile, US troops arrested and later released the top aide to Shi'ite Muslim radical leader Moqtada al Sadr, Sheikh Hazem al Araji.
His detention came as al Sadr told Lebanese TV he would die for his beliefs.
He said: "I am ready to sacrifice (myself) and I call on the (Iraqi) people not to allow my death to cause the collapse of the fight for freedom and an end to the occupation."
The week-long revolt in Iraq has forced the commander of US forces in the Iraq to call for 10,000 more troops to restore order.
General John Abizaid has asked the Pentagon for an extra two combat brigades, reversing the trend of decreasing the number of troops in the country.
US troops have clashed with Sunni insurgents around Fallujah despite attempts to maintain a truce in the city, with one US marine being killed.
A senior US official said that the alleged mastermind of the Al Qaeda operations in Iraq, Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, is believed to be in Fallujah.
US President George Bush has announced he will hold a White House press conference later.
Last Updated: 16:57 UK, Tuesday April 13, 2004