Iraq guerillas seize another six foreign hostages

8.10am

BAGHDAD - A new hostage crisis has erupted in Iraq with guerrillas saying they have seized three Indians, two Kenyans and an Egyptian and threatening to kill them one by one.

It comes just a day after a kidnapped Filipino was freed in return for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

In video footage given to Arabic satellite channel Al Arabiya, masked gunmen said they would behead the captives unless the Kuwaiti company they worked for pulled out of Iraq.

"We announce we have captured two Kenyans, three Indians and one Egyptian. We tell the company to withdraw and close its offices in Iraq," said one of the masked men, from a group calling itself the "Black Banners".

The guerrillas also demanded that India, Kenya and Egypt withdraw their citizens from Iraq. None of the countries are part of the US-led military coalition in Iraq but many of their nationals work as drivers and contractors.

"We have just heard the news. We are in touch with our embassy in Baghdad and in Kuwait to find out all possible details and to liaise with Iraqi authorities to seek early release of the persons reported to be kidnapped and ensure their safe return," said E. Ahmed, junior Indian foreign minister.

An Egyptian diplomatic source confirmed that an Egyptian truck driver named Mohammed Ali had been taken hostage.

On Monday, another Egyptian hostage was freed after his Saudi employer pledged to stop doing business in Iraq.

On Tuesday, Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz was released from more than two weeks in captivity, after the Philippines bowed to the demands of his captors and withdrew its small military contingent from Iraq a month ahead of schedule.

Manila's move was criticised by the United States and Australia, both key allies, and by Iraq's interim government which said the Philippines was giving in to terrorism.

De la Cruz, a 46-year-old father of eight, flew to Abu Dhabi on Wednesday to be reunited with his wife before heading home. He said he was well treated in captivity but often feared death.

Washington insists its coalition remains strong despite the Philippines' decision to follow Spain, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Honduras in pulling out of the country.

But two more members of the coalition came under fresh pressure on Wednesday, with an internet statement from a group claiming to be the European wing of al Qaeda threatening the nations with attack unless they withdrew from Iraq.

"To the crusader Bulgarian government which supports the Americans, we ask you for the last time to withdraw Bulgarian forces from Iraq or we will turn Bulgaria into a bloodbath," said the statement. Its authenticity could not be confirmed.

"To Poland and the despicable Prime Minister Marek Belka, withdraw your forces from Iraq or you will hear explosions ripping through your country when we want," the statement added.

Poland has 2400 troops around south central Iraq. Bulgaria has 455 troops in the same area.

"We are treating the threat extremely seriously, although I would say we have had more of these sorts of statements from various organisations," Belka told Poland's parliament.

"According to our security services, there are no new events within Polish borders which would require any particular sort of behaviour, or reaction from our citizens."

On Tuesday, an internet statement claiming to be from a group led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi said Japan would face attacks unless it followed the example of the Philippines and withdrew its 550 non-combat troops from Iraq.

But another statement later in the day, also claiming to be from Zarqawi's group, disowned the threat.

Japan vowed to stand its ground.

"For the rebuilding of Iraq, we must continue our support and not give in to terrorism," Deputy Cabinet Secretary Masaaki Yamazaki told a news conference in Tokyo.

Yamazaki said Japan was checking the credibility of the internet threat. Japan's troops are based in the southern Iraqi town of Samawa, a spot that has seen little of the kind of violence suffered by other parts of Iraq.

The United States has offered US$25 million($38.77 million) for the capture of Zarqawi, its top militant target in Iraq. He is blamed for masterminding a series of suicide bombings and for the killing of an American, a South Korean and a Bulgarian hostage.

A second Bulgarian hostage also captured by Zarqawi's group is almost certainly dead, diplomats in Baghdad say.

In Baghdad, a car bomb exploded in a residential area on Wednesday evening, killing four people, police and witnesses said. It was not clear what the target was, or whether the bomb had exploded prematurely.

Rockets fired by guerrillas also hit a hospital in the capital, killing two Iraqis and wounding three.

Fighting between US troops and insurgents erupted in the city of Ramadi in western Iraq, witnesses said. A doctor at the city's main hospital said at least five Iraqis were killed, including three brothers whose car was destroyed by a roadside bomb planted by guerrillas to target US patrols.

In Duluiya, about 70km north of Baghdad, a roadside bomb destroyed a US Bradley fighting vehicle, killing one soldier and wounding six, the 1st Infantry Division said.

The soldier was the fifth member of the US military killed in action in Iraq since Tuesday. The deaths bring to at least 661 the number of US troops killed in action in Iraq since the invasion in March 2003.

The US military said a report from Iraqi police that an American helicopter was shot down near Ramadi was false.

"We have not had any casualties in the past 24 hours and no downed helicopters," a spokesman for the US Marine Corps in western Iraq said.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq