A peace group blamed the US and Britain yesterday for the abduction of four activists shown in an insurgent video, saying the kidnapping was the direct result of the occupation of Iraq.
Meanwhile, in the central town of Baquba, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a minibus early yesterday, killing nine construction workers and wounding two others, the Diyala police said in a statement.
After a hiatus in the kidnapping of foreigners, TV footage on Tuesday once again showed Westerners held captive: a German archaeologist -- bound and blindfolded -- knelt among masked gunmen in one video and four frightened peace activists were shown in another blurry tape.
PHOTO: AP
The latest attacks are part of a new wave of kidnappings police fear is aimed at disrupting next month's national elections.
Christian Peacemaker Teams, a group that has had activists in Iraq since October 2002, said it was saddened by the video tape of their workers, who the statement said were working against the occupation of Iraq.
"We are angry because what has happened to our teammates is the result of the actions of the US and UK governments due to the illegal attack on Iraq and the continuing occupation and oppression of its people," the group said.
The group listed the names of those abducted as Tom Fox, an American; Norman Kember, from Britain; and James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, both of Canada.
"We are some of the few internationals left in Iraq who are telling the truth about what is happening to the Iraqi people," the statement said.
"We hope that we can continue to do this work and we pray for the speedy release of our beloved teammates," it added.
On Tuesday, al-Jazeera broadcast video of the four men held by a previously unknown group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade.
The group claimed they were spies working under the cover of Christian peace activists.
Loney, a community worker, was leading the Christian group's delegation in Iraq.
The tape was shown the same day a TV station displayed a photo of the German hostage, Susanne Osthoff.
The kidnappers threatened to kill Osthoff and her Iraqi driver unless Germany halts all contacts with the Iraqi government.
Osthoff and her driver were kidnapped on Friday.
Germany has ruled out sending troops to Iraq and opposed the US-led war, but has been training Iraqi police and military outside the country.
Iraq was swept by a wave of kidnappings and beheadings of foreigners last year and early this year, but such attacks have dropped off in recent months as many Western groups have left and security precautions for those who remain have tightened.
Insurgents, including al-Qaeda in Iraq, have seized more than 225 people, killing at least 38.
DEADLOCK: Putin has vowed to continue fighting unless Ukraine cedes more land, while talks have been paused with no immediate results expected, the Kremlin said Russia on Friday said that peace talks with Kyiv were on “pause” as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin still wanted to capture the whole of Ukraine. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said that he was running out of patience with Putin, and the NATO alliance said it would bolster its eastern front after Russian drones were shot down in Polish airspace this week. The latest blow to faltering diplomacy came as Russia’s army staged major military drills with its key ally Belarus. Despite Trump forcing the warring sides to hold direct talks and hosting Putin in Alaska, there
North Korea has executed people for watching or distributing foreign television shows, including popular South Korean dramas, as part of an intensifying crackdown on personal freedoms, a UN human rights report said on Friday. Surveillance has grown more pervasive since 2014 with the help of new technologies, while punishments have become harsher — including the introduction of the death penalty for offences such as sharing foreign TV dramas, the report said. The curbs make North Korea the most restrictive country in the world, said the 14-page UN report, which was based on interviews with more than 300 witnesses and victims who had
COMFORT WOMEN CLASH: Japan has strongly rejected South Korean court rulings ordering the government to provide reparations to Korean victims of sexual slavery The Japanese government yesterday defended its stance on wartime sexual slavery and described South Korean court rulings ordering Japanese compensation as violations of international law, after UN investigators criticized Tokyo for failing to ensure truth-finding and reparations for the victims. In its own response to UN human rights rapporteurs, South Korea called on Japan to “squarely face up to our painful history” and cited how Tokyo’s refusal to comply with court orders have denied the victims payment. The statements underscored how the two Asian US allies still hold key differences on the issue, even as they pause their on-and-off disputes over historical
CONSOLIDATION: The Indonesian president has used the moment to replace figures from former president Jokowi’s tenure with loyal allies In removing Indonesia’s finance minister and U-turning on protester demands, the leader of Southeast Asia’s biggest economy is scrambling to restore public trust while seizing a chance to install loyalists after deadly riots last month, experts say. Demonstrations that were sparked by low wages, unemployment and anger over lawmakers’ lavish perks grew after footage spread of a paramilitary police vehicle running over a delivery motorcycle driver. The ensuing riots, which rights groups say left at least 10 dead and hundreds detained, were the biggest of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s term, and the ex-general is now calling on the public to restore their
RSS