This has been a difficult story to keep track of, as the known facts keep changing. First the Taliban claimed to have killed both German hostages and all six of the Afghans abducted along with them. The Afghan government denied this claim, saying that one engineer had died of a heart attack and the other was still alive. Then a body, said to be that of hostage Ruediger B., was discovered with gunshot wounds. The official story as of yesterday was that Ruediger, a diabetic, collapsed during a forced march and was shot by his captors to see if he was dead or alive.

Now the German newspaper Spiegel Online is finally putting the pieces of the story together. The dead hostage has been identified as 43-year-old Ruediger Diedrich, an engineer from the northeastern German state of Mecklenberg-Western Pomerania, who went to Afghanistan after the construction company he owned went bankrupt. He was reportedly afraid of going to Afghanistan, but saw it as his only opportunity to repay his debts.

Although his first trip to the country was successful, he became increasingly worried about the security situation in Kabul, where he lived, as violence in the city increased. He told the German broadcaster ZDF in a June 2006 interview of his fears. "I feel very unsafe," he said. "Afghanistan is a powder keg." He only left his house when it was strictly necessary, he said.

However he apparently gradually got used to the violence, and colleagues said he did not show signs of fear. It was perhaps this relaxed attitude that led him to decide to travel to the dangerous Wardak province with Rudolf B.

Rudolf B. is a 62-year-old construction engineer who suffers from diabetes and does not have his insulin with him. German officials say they talked to him by telephone on Sunday and are very concerned about the state of his health.

Speigel speculates that the real target of the kidnapping wasn't the two engineers, but an Afghan businessman, Eshak Noorzai, a member of a powerful family, and whose brother is the deputy speaker of the Afghan parliament. This doesn't seem likely however, as he was the only hostage released so far, and has given the only eyewitness reports of Ruediger Diedrich's death.

Mr. Diedrich's body is being flown to Germany for an autopsy scheduled for Thursday, to determine if he was in fact already dead when he was shot by his captors.

German aerial reconnaissance has determined the location of the hostages and negotiations with tribal elders are continuing. Let's continue to pray for strength and health for Rudolf B. and the remaining Afghan hostages, and for the comfort of Mr. Diedrich's family and friends. Previous:

Body of 1 German Hostage Recovered in Afghanistan

Posted by: noburqa at 02:49 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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