Hostages face death deadline

By HELEN TUNNAH and AGENCIES

The tearful families of Japanese hostages threatened with being burned to death pleaded with the Japanese Government to withdraw its troops as Iraq plunged into the bloodiest and most chaotic period of the occupation.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell last night angrily rejected comparisons with the Vietnam War, saying Iraq was not a "swamp that is going to devour" the United States.

On the anniversary of the war against Saddam Hussein, a previously unknown Iraqi group said it was holding three Japanese hostages and threatened to burn them alive unless Japan withdrew its troops from Iraq by Monday.

Their families pleaded for the Government to rescue their loved ones, and the mother of 18-year-old hostage Noriaki Imai urged the Japanese Government to withdraw troops.

But Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said: "We should not give in to these despicable threats from terrorists."

Rebels have also seized two Palestinians with Israeli identity cards, a Briton in the southern town of Nassiriya and a Canadian aid worker.

New Zealand's troops in Iraq are assessing security every 12 hours as violence escalates in and around the southern city of Basra - 90 per cent Shia Muslim - where they are based.

Lieutenant Colonel Ants Howie, New Zealand's senior officer in Iraq, told the Weekend Herald the engineers were facing increasing numbers of "no go" zones in their area, although reconstruction work was continuing.

"It's fair to say this is a dangerous place," he said. "We are monitoring the situation closely. We review the security situation every 12 hours."

New Zealand's second deployment of about 60 soldiers and engineers went to Iraq last month. They are based with British forces at the former Iraqi naval academy in Basra.

If the situation deteriorates suddenly, troops will be pulled back to safeguard the fortress.

Colonel Howie said the 14,000 troops in southern Iraq included 8000 from Britain, as well as forces from Italy, the Netherlands and 500 Japanese soldiers.

The Chief of Defence Force, Air Vice-Marshal Bruce Ferguson, said this week that the New Zealanders, who are not part of the US-led coalition forces, would not be pulled out, although he was "very concerned" and monitoring the situation.

Prime Minister Helen Clark has said New Zealand will not extend its role once the present deployment ended in October, and Foreign Minister Phil Goff confirmed that in a meeting with Mr Powell in Washington on Thursday.

But Mr Goff said a withdrawal of occupying forces in Iraq would leave a "chaotic and violent" situation which no one wanted.

The top US military leader in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, said earlier yesterday that Najaf and Kut were in the hands of al-Sadr's forces.

But last night, American forces retook control of Kut and forces who had been locked in urban warfare in Fallujah, last night suspended military operations to allow humanitarian access and to try to start talks.

In Europe, a series of security alerts spread fear through Spain, France, Britain and Italy.

Rail traffic in Paris was temporarily halted and five stations evacuated after a warning from America's Central Intelligence Agency about a possible bomb attack.

US President George W. Bush has vowed the violence will not force the US to retreat from Baghdad or disrupt its planned handover of power to Iraqis on June 30. But a US opinion poll this week showed plunging support for Bush's handling of Iraq and signs of nervousness have emerged among some allies.

Herald Feature: Iraq