Kidnappers silent on fate of Christian hostages in Iraq
Kidnappers holding four Westerners made no contact with Iraqi authorities today, the day which they had set as a deadline to kill the humanitarian activists unless US and Iraqi authorities release all prisoners they hold in Iraq, the interior ministry said.
The ministry had received no information about the four Christian activists by late morning, a spokesman said. He asked that his name not be used due to the sensitivity of the situation.
The previously unknown Swords of Righteousness Brigade set today as a deadline for killing Norman Kember, 74, of London, Tom Fox, 54, of Clear Brook, Virginia, and Canadians James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32.
The group seized the four members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams two weeks ago. It first set a Thursday deadline but then extended it until Saturday, without setting a precise hour.
A spokeswoman for the American embassy in Baghdad, Elizabeth Colton, said: “The US government is willing to listen to anyone on such matters.”
On Friday, Sunni Arab clerics used their main weekly religious service to plead for the hostages’ lives because of their humanitarian work and condemnation of the US-led war in Iraq.
The Canadian Islamic Congress to Iraq also sent an envoy, Ehab Lotayef, to try to win the activists’ release.
“We hope that they would be released as soon as possible because Christmas is approaching and I hope that they will be with their families by then. We hope that this regrettable story will have a happy end,” Lotayef said.
A French aid worker and a German citizen are also being held by kidnappers. There was no word early today on the fate of an American hostage, Ronald Allen Schulz, after an internet statement in the name of the Islamic Army in Iraq claimed to have killed him.
Iraqi officials believe the revival of foreigner kidnappings may be part of a bid to undermine the December 15 elections, in which Iraqis will choose a parliament to serve for four years.
US officials hope a big turnout among the Sunni Arab minority, the foundation of the insurgency, will help quell the violence so that American and other foreign troops can begin to go home next year.
Elsewhere, American troops detained a high-ranking member of al Qaida in Iraq after he was turned in yesterday by residents of Ramadi, the US military said.
Amir Khalaf Fanus, also known as “The Butcher” was wanted for murder and kidnapping, Marine Capt. Jeffrey S. Pool said in a statement.
