Two Iraqi interpreters kidnapped along with a US citizen a day ago have been found murdered in central Basra, a spokesman for the British military told reporters yesterday.
The two were found murdered near a stadium with bullets in the back of their heads, Major Charlie Burbridge said.
Earlier, US embassy spokesman Louis Fintor confirmed that US officials were investigating the reported abduction from near Iraq's second largest city.
"Officials are investigating reports that an American citizen was kidnapped from near Basra on January 5," he said.
The three were kidnapped from an area called Al-Haritha, north of Basra, local police chief Moham-med al-Mussawi said.
They were traveling in a black Opel car when three other vehicles full of gunmen ambushed them and kidnapped them, police said.
The abduction brought to six the number of Americans held hostage in Iraq.
A US soldier of Iraqi descent was kidnapped in October after he slipped out to visit his Iraqi wife.
One Austrian and four US security contractors were kidnapped from Safwan on Nov. 16. They were escorting a convoy on behalf of Kuwaiti-based Crescent Security when they were seized by kidnappers wearing police uniforms.
Their captors released a video earlier this week in which they appeared healthy but showed the hostages asking for the release of all detainees in US and British-run prisons in Iraq.
Several Islamist and nationalist resistance groups operate in Iraq, along with illegal militias, corrupt security force units and gangs who seize hostages for ransom.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source