Two Macedonian hostages beheaded, Australian journalist released

10.45am - By KIM SENGUPTA in Baghdad

Two Macedonians taken hostage by a militant group were reported to have been beheaded in Iraq yesterday. However, the first Australian kidnap victim in the country was freed after 36 hours in captivity.

The two dead men are said to have been among a group of three - Dalibor Lazarevski, Dragan Markovic and Zoran Naskovski - who were seized by insurgents in August while working as builders.

The Arabic television channel Al Jazeera said it had been sent a videotape showing the killing by the Islamic Army in Iraq, claiming the Macedonians were American spies. The station showed a segment of the recording in which the two men were seen speaking to the camera followed by indistinct footage of their passports.

The three men, in a group of five, had been abducted in Baghdad. They had been working for Soufan Engineering, based in the United Arab Emirates, which has contracts with the US military.

The men, who were travelling without escorts, were stopped by armed men en route to their construction site. Two of the men were later freed with a demand for a ransom, and negotiations were said to have taken place subsequently involving the Macedonian government which has 32 soldiers based in Iraq.

However, it is believed that soon afterwards the men were sold by their captors to insurgent group Islamic Army in Iraq who carried out the killing.

The Australian hostage John Martinkus, a reporter with SBS Television, was held by a group claiming to be Ba'athists after being snatched near his hotel in Baghdad by armed men. The journalist said that he was threatened with being taken to the rebel stronghold of Fallujah by his abductors. However, he was freed after they searched in the internet for stories he had written about the war and decided they were objective and fair.

Mr Martinkus was on his way to an assignment when his car was forced to stop by two other vehicles. He was taken at gunpoint to a location he believes to have been in west Baghdad. He said he was treated well by his kidnappers before being released. He has now left the country to return to Australia.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard, a vocal supporter of the Iraq invasion, sent 2,000 troops to the war, and still has 920 stationed here. None of the country's soldiers have been killed in the conflict.

A car bomb exploded near the Australian embassy in the Jadariyah district, killing six people, and injured 26. The target, however, is believed to have been an Iraqi police post; three of those killed were policemen.

Two car bombs in the northern city of Mosul killed six civilians and injured 15 others. There were no reports of any large-scale clashes in Fallujah, the rebel stronghold surrounded by Americans, yesterday.

The Americans are said to be waiting for further reinforcements to join the force of 1,400 already in position around the city. Part of that reinforcement will be US soldiers freed for Fallujah with the expected arrival next week of British troops from Basra to replace them.

Although no final decision has been made, it is believed that a mechanised infantry battalion of 650, the Black Watch, will move into an area covering the towns of Iskandariyah, Latifiyah and Mahmudiyah, one of the most violent flashpoints in the current insurgency.

The chief negotiator for the city of Fallujah, besieged by US forces, was freed on the orders of Iyad Allawi, Iraq's interim prime minister, after his arrest by the Americans last Friday.

Mr Allawi had said that he hoped peace talks could restart. But one of the first statements by Sheikh Khaled al-Jemeili after being released was to say that talks with Iraq's interim government will not be resumed as a protest at his detention.

He added that three other men arrested with him, said to be the police chief of Fallujah and two of his senior officers, have not been released.

Sheikh Khaled al-Jumeili said " The fact is that I'm negotiating on behalf of Fallujah people - civilians, children, women - who have no power apart from being represented by somebody. Since the situation has got to this, each side can go wherever they want and we don't want to talk about negotiations."

The interim government's National Security Advisor, Kassim Daoud insisted yesterday that Fallujah will be attacked unless its people hand over the Jordanian militant leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Asked when the offensive will begin, he responded: "We have a plan and we will stick to it."


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Herald Feature: Iraq