US Secretary of State Colin Powell yesterday called for unity among US-led forces in Iraq as a mortar attack in Baghdad killed a civilian and wounded more than a dozen soldiers and fears ran high for foreign hostages facing death threats.
Islamabad made a fresh appeal for two Pakistanis being held along with an Iraqi national, while Amman sought to negotiate the release of two Jordanian drivers abducted on Monday by a separate Islamic militant group.
Violence continued to claim civilian lives, as an early morning mortar attack in residential Baghdad killed a rubbish collector and wounded 14 US soldiers and a civilian.
South of Baghdad, a deputy hospital director, Kassem el-Abadi, 40, was shot dead by gunmen in a car on his way home late Monday, the health ministry said.
In Hungary, Powell called for countries which have deployed military forces in Iraq to stick together, as the hostage crisis continues to fray government nerves.
"There is a brighter future ahead for the Iraqi people only if the coalition stays together," Powell told Hungarian TV at the start of a tour of six Middle Eastern and European countries.
Hungary was one of about 30 countries that sent troops to Iraq after last year's US-led invasion, but maintains only about 300 soldiers in the country.
Five countries have already pulled out of the US-led multinational force. Washington fears that continued attacks, along with the kidnappings and brutal murders of a number of foreigners, will encourage others to follow suit.
Pakistan yesterday renewed its call for the release of two of its nationals threatened with death by their Islamic militant abductors, insisting they were not working for US forces and denying Islamabad planned to send troops to Iraq.
Azad Hussein Khan, 49, a maintenance engineer, and Sajjad Naeem, 29, a driver, are being held by a group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq.
"We appeal to the captors to release the two innocent Pakistanis in the name of humanity," said Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan.
In Amman, meanwhile, the government said it was optimistic that two Jordanian hostages who worked for a company supplying US forces in Iraq would soon be freed.
Ahmed Salameh Hussein, 34, and Fayez Saad al-Adwan, 58, were employed by the Jordanian company Daoud and Partners, a supplier to the US military.
"We are continuing to make contacts and are optimistic about reaching a positive outcome soon," said a Jordanian government official, asking not to be named.
The men's kidnappers have reportedly given the company 72 hours to halt its operations in Iraq, threatening otherwise to execute the two Jordanians.
Anguished relatives of more than 20 foreigners still missing or held hostage in Iraq took heart from the release of an Egyptian diplomat -- set free late on Monday after his abductors said they were impressed by his religious faith.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Mohamed Mamdouh Kotb said he had been seized in protest at Egypt's ties with Iraq's US-backed caretaker government.
"These people are Islamists, definitely, they are not common criminals," he said. The men refused any kind of ransom for his release, he said.
Three Indians, three Kenyans and an Egyptian have been given an 11th-hour stay of execution after their kidnappers appointed a tribal sheikh to negotiate with their Kuwaiti employers and respective embassies.
The Philippines withdrew its forces from Iraq this month earlier than planned to secure the release of a kidnapped Filipino truck driver -- drawing stinging criticism from the US and Australia.
Also see story:
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
‘IRRESPONSIBLE’: Beijing’s constant disruption of the ‘status quo’ in the Taiwan Strait has damaged peace, stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region, MOFA said The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China’s launch of another military drill around Taiwan, saying such actions are a “unilateral provocation” that destabilizes regional peace and stability. China should immediately stop the irresponsible and provocative actions, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said, after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) yesterday announced the start of a new round of joint exercises around Taiwan by the army, navy and air force, which it said were approaching “from different directions.” Code-named “Justice Mission 2025,” the exercises would be conducted in the Taiwan Strait and in areas north, southwest, southeast and east of Taiwan
RSS