News today that Turkish police are holding a terrorists who claims to know the location of murdered hostage Ken Bigley's body. The Turks are holding him in connection with serveral bombings there.

Via Mark Heath at EADT24: The brother of murdered hostage Ken Bigley has spoken of the family's hope that his remains may finally be found after a prisoner in Turkey was questioned in connection with the horrific killing.

Phil Bigley, who lives in Ipswich, spoke to the EADT as it emerged that Syrian national Loa'i al-Saqa has been questioned about his brother's execution in Iraq in October 2004....

...Turkey's Anatolia news agency has reported that Mr al-Saqa was interviewed for an hour-and-a-half in the city of Kocaeli.

It comes after his lawyer had claimed last April that his client had information on the execution and knew where Ken Bigley's body was buried.

Yesterday, Phil Bigley said: “We are grateful to the Foreign Office that they continue to support us, and the Metropolitan Police.

“Anything that will bring about the location of my brother's remains would be our goal.

After we learn what we can, I hope the Turks give him his due. A nice stay in Turkish pound-terrorists-in-the-ass-prison followed shortly thereafter by a firing squad. Sounds fair to me anyway, considering what these people did to Mr. Bigley.

More here.

Jawa Report Hostage Archive here. more...

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John Rosenthal sends this translation he made of the account of three journalists & their driver kidnapped by the Taliban. The original appeared in Die Weltwoche, but you can read the English version of it at World Politics Watch:

Now the tide seems to have turned. The older guy, who first seemed like a savior to us, orders his men to empty our pockets. Passports, wallets, several hundred dollars, digital camera, even my glasses -- everything is taken away from us and thrown into a pile on the sand. Then he walks up to us, points his gun and orders: "Get down on your knees, in a row!"...

Nathan is kneeling to my left. The driver Ismael to my right. He has moved about a yard away from me, as if he believed that greater distance from the "unbelievers" might prolong his life somewhat....

Posted by: Rusty at 10:49 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Israeli hostage Gilad Shilat is apparently alive and well. But, consider the source.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - One of the Palestinian militant groups that captured an Israeli soldier last summer said Tuesday that the serviceman is in "good health," the first time it has given details about his condition.

I'm skeptical of these claims after reading this part:

"Gilad Shalit is in good health and is being treated according to Islamic standards of dealing with prisoners of war," he said.

The last time I noticed, Islamic standards of dealing with prisoners of war included torture (and not the so-called Abu Ghraib kind, leftist sissies, real torture), deprivation, and in many cases, decapitation.

We at The Jawa Report pray for the safe release of Gilad Shilat, Eldad Regev, and Ehud Goldwasser. And the slow, agonizing, death of their captors.

Posted by: Vinnie at 12:08 AM | Comments (19) | Add Comment
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Not many details yet. One American and Two Iraqi citizens have been reportedly kidnapped in Iraq. We hope both the American and the Iraqis are returned safely.

Via Chron: BAGHDAD, Iraq — The U.S. Embassy said it was investigating reports that an American civilian was kidnapped today in southern Iraq.

Police in the city of Basra said a U.S. civilian and two Iraqis were abducted in the northern part of the city, according to Voices of Iraq, an independent news agency.

It quoted the city's police chief, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Hamadi al-Musawi, as saying they were kidnapped while on their way to Basra from the province of Maysan in a civilian vehicle.

"We're aware of the reports and are trying to determine the status and welfare of the individual in question," U.S. Embassy spokesman Lou Fintor said.

Update by Vinnie: The two Iraqi translators have been found dead:

Basra - Two Iraqi interpreters kidnapped along with an American citizen a day ago have been found murdered in central Basra, a spokesperson for the British military said on Saturday.

The two were found murdered near a stadium with bullets in the back of their heads, Major Charlie Burbridge said.

Earlier, US embassy spokesperson Louis Fintor confirmed that an American working as a private security contractor was abducted on Friday from near Basra, Iraq's second largest city.

We continue to pray for the hostage. And the screaming tortured torment of his captors.

Thanks again to George.

Posted by: Howie at 03:09 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Vicki at Not Ready For My Burqua reports that the police in Basra have given up the search for Jonathan Cote, Paul Reuben, Bert Nussbaumer, John Young, and Josh Munz because of the Christmas Day raid the British did on their torture chamber police station.

From Voice of Iraq:

Brig. Ali Ibrahim, Chairman of the trilateral security committee in Basra, told VOI on Thursday that Iraqis' efforts in search of the five kidnapped persons ceased after British forces blew up the criminal department building in Basra a fortnight ago.

That's French-style gratitude right there.

I say we grab Brig Ali Ibrahim and waterboard his ass until he tells us what he knows. If he doesn't know anything, start working down the maggot-pile known as the Iraqi police until we find someone who does.

And then turn the Basra police department over to the Sunnis.

Posted by: Vinnie at 10:33 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Oooops.

Howie already posted this.

Stoopid PDAs.

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A new video has emerged of four Americans and an Austrian held hostage in Iraq. The video is posted below.

As always, we demand their unconditional safe release. The group holding the hostages is a little knows Shiite group calling itself "Mujahideen of Jerusalem Company." The hostages work for "Crescent Security" which provides convoy protection for civilian trucking from Kuwait to Iraq. AP:

"My name is John R. Young," one captive in a blue and white sweat suit said in the video. "I'm 44 years old. I'm from Kansas City, Missouri. The date is 21 December, 2006. I'm well, my friends are well, we've been treated well."

Another man identified himself as Jon Cote of Buffalo, N.Y. Fidgeting and appearing uncomfortable, he said: "I can't be released until the prisoners from the American jails and the British jails are released."...

Four of the captives were seen sitting alone and cross-legged on a carpet, with a black sheet hanging behind them. The video only showed the upper body of the fifth man, who identified himself as Paul Johnson Reuben of Buffalo, Minn., which is near Minneapolis. Reuben said the date is Dec. 22, 2006, and that he wanted his family to know he was being treated well.

Another man with a beard and a mustache identified himself as Bert Nussbaumer, an Austrian citizen working for Crescent Security.

Another captive identified himself as Josh Munz, 23, of Redding, Calif.

"I joined the Marine Corps in 2001, and I got out in 2005," Munz says. "After I got out of the Marine Corps, I went to work in the construction business, building swimming pools. After that, in July of 2006, I started working for Crescent Security out of Kuwait, and I don't know how long I've been here doing this, but today is December 21, 2006."

More: Complete Jawa Report Hostage Archive
Kidnapped Security Contractors Alive: Video emerges
Austrian Hostage Identified
Friend Of Hostage Paul Reuben Speaks Out
Terrorists with Ties to Iran Claim Western Hostage Taking
Four Americans Kidnapped in Iraq, Austrian Civilian Killed more...

Posted by: Rusty at 01:04 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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McClatchy Newspapers has been shown a Video of the five men as proof they are alive.

Kansas City Star: BAGHDAD, Iraq | Four American security contractors — including an area man — and an Austrian co-worker kidnapped in southern Iraq six weeks ago appear in a videotape.

The area man identifies himself as John Young, 44, of Kansas City. Relatives reached Wednesday by The Kansas City Star declined comment.

There is no way to tell when the video was filmed.

The footage, which hasn’t been made public, is the first proof that all five survived their abductions Nov. 16 in an ambush in the town of Safwan.
The clip was shown Tuesday night to McClatchy Newspapers in Baghdad on condition that the provider’s name and other identifying details be withheld for security reasons.

The provider said the video was shot in response to a demand for proof that the men were alive before negotiations for their release could begin.

The provider was confident the men were still living and remained in the hands of a little-known Shiite Muslim militant group that called itself the “Mujahedeen of Jerusalem Company.”

Jawa Report post from the confusion immediately following their disappearance.

Shortly after they were taken a group calling itself The Islamic Mujahedeen Battalion claimed to have taken the men. They made the claim in a video that was broadcast on Iranian state television.

Whatever the name, Iran seems to be involved with this incident. A source pointed out to me that he thought the men would be killed. I disagreed and thought that if Iran was involved they would not throw away a bargaining chip. They would hold the men.

Well it looks like we are also holding a few chips of our own. Can you say let’s make a deal. These five for your two and none can return to Iraq. Fair enough Mookie?

Deal or no deal we pray for their safe and speedy return and for strength for their families at this most difficult of times.

Hat Tip: George.

Posted by: Howie at 12:12 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Vicki at Not Ready For My Burqua has identified the Austrian hostage. His name is Bert Nussbaumer.

To recap, so far the following Crescent Security Group hostages whose names we know are:

Paul Reuben

Jonathan Cote

Bert Nussbaumer

Two other Americans remain unidentified.

She also posted pictures of the three known men. Click the link above to see the faces to go with the names.

We pray for their safe return, and the screaming, tortuous death of their captors.

Jawa hostage archives.

Posted by: Vinnie at 11:30 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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It's nice to be able to post something from the mail bag that isn't vicious, nasty, and disgusting.

Paul Reuben, and 4 others taken with him, are still missing in Iraq. A good friend of his, Mark Kocielski, has set up a website in support of Paul.

We pray for their safe return.

Posted by: Vinnie at 12:23 AM | Comments (14) | Add Comment
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1 I'll pray that he returns home safe and that his kidnappers are killed in the process.


Allowing jihadi thugs to avoid retribution encourages more kidnappings. Paul reubens and all the other victims deserve to see their tormentors wiped off the Earth.


And no, I'm not talking about every last muslime on the planet, althoughthe cult definitely needs to be expunged.

Posted by: Jeff Bargholz at December 26, 2006 06:13 AM (abVz3)

2 Pee Wee Herman's in Iraq? Oh wait ...

Posted by: rightwingprof at December 26, 2006 08:08 AM (o7KrD)

3 Hate to sound cruel but ransomes should not be paid. Civilians should'nt be in Iraq. He went their to make money. That was his goal. Shouldn't have gone. Wish him luck but sometimes when you make your own bed you must lie in it.

Posted by: Greyrooster at December 26, 2006 08:42 AM (4Ek2v)

4 They are clearly dead Vinnie. They have not been seen in any hostage video and the only group to claim responsibility for their abduction didn't even show them alive.

Posted by: Frank Hunter at December 26, 2006 09:27 AM (JGiPv)

5 You are right Greyrooster. They knew the risks. Americans in Iraq are dead unless they are attractive women like Jill Carroll. These guys are dead.

Posted by: Frank Hunter at December 26, 2006 09:30 AM (JGiPv)

6 Hoping for their safe return as well!!!

Posted by: Shawn at December 26, 2006 09:55 AM (tt+bJ)

7 I can say a prayer for their return, but I expect it is as big a miracle as if Osama bin Laden found Christ.

I also believe that if we pay ransoms, it encourages more of the same. I seem to recall reading somewhere "Rome has no hostages". I don't know where I read it, or if I remember it correctly but I think I understand it.

To put it another way, we allow no citizen in the hands of an enemy to command our obedience on any issue, and further, if you are that enemy, your attempt to force our behavior is an act demanding retribution. You are now the hunted. We will retrieve our people, dead or alive, and we will make you pay for touching them! You will not live to do it again!

I support that kind of hostage negotiation.

So if there is ever a video of me saying stupid, defeatist things because I have been starved, parched, and tortured ... if I am saying something wrong like "do what they ask" I'm telling you, that isn't me anymore! Kill the mother f*ckers! Don't even worry about getting me out, just blast them! Kill their friends, and kill anyone who tries to sheild them!

I do not want to used by our enemies, as a weapon against my country. I repeat ... "Kill the mother f*ckers!" Do not shame me by letting them use me. And 'Death to AP'.

I still want to get our people out alive, so I'll pray for that. As a practical matter, hostages are dead as soon as they are taken. We should act accordingly. Harsh, but realistic.

Happy New Year,
USA, all the way!

Posted by: Michael Weaver at December 26, 2006 04:21 PM (2OHpj)

8 Jill Carroll is an attractive woman?  Barf! Even in the female pig pen of the Middle East she's unremarkable.

Posted by: Jeff Bargholz at December 27, 2006 01:07 AM (abVz3)

9 Shut up. Anyway I have been thankfully proven wrong. I apologize. The hostages are alive and have appeared in a private hostage video.
 
 
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/16330205.htm
 

Posted by: Frank Hunter at December 28, 2006 11:59 AM (JGiPv)

10 Jeff;
A lot of people regard Jill Carroll as being attractive. I'm agnostic about it myself.

Either way, I don't know why you believe there are no attractive women of middle eastern descent.

The women there are mostly suffering from other deficiencies. Some are busy popping out the next wave of suicde bombers, and happy to have the honor. Some wish they knew a way to escape the life they are trapped in. Some eventually do escape.

Some become fashion models in the west.

That's how I see it anyway

USA, all the way!

Posted by: Michael Weaver at December 28, 2006 12:55 PM (2OHpj)

11 Frank Hunter;

Glad to hear there is hope. Thanks for the update. I hope I didn't seem callous about their situation, when I commented earlier.

We just have to stop rewarding kidnappers.

USA, all the way!

Posted by: Michael Weaver at December 28, 2006 12:58 PM (2OHpj)

12 Amen brothers.

Posted by: Frank Hunter at December 29, 2006 01:30 PM (JGiPv)

13 The whole thing sucks. All of it.

Posted by: Angela Frankenberry at December 31, 2006 04:47 PM (WStW9)

14 Knowing Paul and his love for Christ he has taught his captors patience and humility! We can do all things through Christ Jesus, what Paul needs is everyone to diligently pray! There are many families and business owners in Buffalo that I have contacted to pray for Paul, please Pray with us!

Posted by: Lisa at January 01, 2007 05:55 PM (izaz7)

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The second part of Deborah Hastings’ story on Roy’s rescue.

NC Times: EDITOR'S NOTE: The ransom demands had stopped, and the trail had gone cold. More than 10 months after U.S. contractor Roy Hallums was abducted in Iraq, a local man being interrogated by coalition soldiers claimed to know where the American was being held. This is the second part of a two-part AP serial narrative. This story is based on hours of interviews with Roy Hallums, Susan Hallums and Dan O'Shea, and their recollections of Roy Hallums' kidnapping in Iraq.

The coalition soldiers didn't know it, but this man they'd hauled in for questioning was about to deliver a bombshell.

Someone had fingered him as part of an extended family of kidnappers whose relatives abducted Iraqis and foreigners ---- it made no difference. The common denominator was money.

The interrogators were only five minutes into it when the man, trying to jump-start a plea for leniency, blurted the name of an American contractor who had been missing for most of a year and given up for dead.

"I know where Roy Hallums is," he said.

He knew about the house. He knew about the concrete prison under the backyard storage shed. He knew about the freezer covering the hatch in the floor.

The coalition soldiers jumped. In less than hour, they assembled a rescue detail and rolled, fully armed, charging in helicopters toward a barren farm in the Triangle of Death.

Posted by: Howie at 02:19 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Deborah Hastings has written a two part series on Roy Hallums. For those of you who may be new to The Jawa Report, Rusty and TJR started following Roy’s story from the beginning.

NC Times:EDITOR'S NOTE -- The Iraqi kidnappers threatened American contractor Roy Hallums with death. Then they videotaped him begging for help. It was all in their script. But could anyone save his life? This is the first part of a two-part serial narrative.

It was an ordinary Monday afternoon. As ordinary as a day can be in Baghdad.

Roy Hallums was in his second-floor office, sitting at his desk, bent over his computer keyboard. Even in a well-to-do neighborhood, in a fortified complex with armed guards, he was used to hearing the sounds of war.

But this was the first time he'd heard them coming up the stairs.

Shooting. Yelling. Pounding feet. Hallums stood, waiting for whatever it was to burst through the door. Four men slammed in, balaclavas covering their heads, guns pointed. In heavily accented English they said: Come with us or we'll kill you…

…November 1, 2004, the day of his kidnapping. A single event from which would be constructed a triangle of anguished isolation: One side was his. Another belonged to his family living in the suburbs of America, begging for help and feeling ignored…

...EDITOR'S NOTE -- This story is based on hours of interviews with Roy Hallums, Susan Hallums and Dan O'Shea, and their recollections of Roy Hallums' kidnapping in Iraq.

Kidnapped Americans in Iraq

Since May 2003, at least 24 Americans have been kidnapped in Iraq. Eighteen are dead or missing.

Today is one of the happiest days of my life. I'm literally crying.

Here is the Jawa Report’s Roy Hallums archive.

In addition to the Americans who were held, murderer or are still missing, the number of Iraqi’s who have suffered this staggering, I have no idea how many. Let’s remember we are in Iraq for them as well. They are kidnapped and murdered every day.

The Jawa Report Hostage Archive.

Our Jill Carrol archive.

Our Jeffrey Ake Archive.

More archives in the left sidebar.

Posted by: Howie at 10:37 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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American soldier, Spc. Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie has been reclassified from "whereabouts unknown" to "missing-captured." We pray for his speedy return.

DOD:

The Department of Defense announced today a change in the status of a soldier serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom from duty status whereabouts unknown (DUSTWUN) to missing-captured.

Spc. Ahmed K. Altaie, 41, of Ann Arbor, Mich., was declared missing-captured on Dec. 11.

On Oct. 23, Altaie was categorized as DUSTWUN when he allegedly was kidnapped while on his way to visit family in Baghdad, Iraq. The soldier is assigned to the Provincial Reconstruction Team Baghdad.

Efforts continue to obtain the successful and safe return of Altaie.

Posted by: Rusty at 12:19 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
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UPDATE: 12/4: The military has changed Maj. Gilbert's status to KIA after DNA tests the body at the crash site was that of Troy. Rest in Peace.

A fund has been set up in his honor. For info, see this post.

UPDATE: George found this photo of Maj. Gilbert. I think it only fitting that we put it on top. Above the image of the SOB pictured below and right. If any soldier in Iraq sees this guy, you know what to do. Rest in Peace.

------------------------------

To the friends and family of Maj. Troy L. Gilbert, our deepest sympathies and condolences. We pray that those who removed your sons body from the battlefield will find justice at the end of a Marine rifle.

Stars and Stripes:

The Pentagon has identified the Air Force pilot who is listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown after his fighter jet crashed Monday near Karmah, Iraq.

Maj. Troy L. Gilbert of the 309th Fighter Squadron out of Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., was piloting the F-16C when it went down about 20 miles northwest of Baghdad, Department of Defense officials said Wednesday.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, though U.S. military spokesmen in Iraq have said enemy fire likely was not a factor in the incident.

Incidentally, the Islamic State of Iraq (formerly knows as the Mujahideen Shura Council), an al Qaeda umbrella group, claims one of their member organizations shot down the plane. Then again, in the same statement they claim to have shot down 6 Blackhawk helicopters, so question the reliability. Every time a helicopter goes down, whether by accident or not, they claim responsibility.

For now, we will file this in our hostage archives.

Posted by: Rusty at 03:59 PM | Comments (21) | Add Comment
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Iraq will execute Hussein Fahmi. The al-Qaeda terrorist will hang for his role in beheading Japanese hostage Shosei Koda. May his neck fail to break and he suffer as Shosei suffered. He deserves no less.

Gulf News Baghdad: A member of Al Qaida has been sentenced to death in Iraq over the kidnapping and beheading of a Japanese hostage in 2004, reports said on Wednesday.

Hussein Fahmi, who was arrested earlier in the year, confessed to beheading Japanese backpacker Shosei Koda.

Fahmi said he had carried out 115 other beheadings. He was sentenced by the Iraqi central criminal court.

Koda was killed in October 2004 by a group then led by Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, after Japan refused to bow to their demands and pull its troops out of Iraq.

The group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and beheading in an internet posting that included a video of the killing. Koda's decapitated body was found wrapped in an American flag in a Baghdad street.

Posted by: Howie at 12:09 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Update by Vinnie: The hostages have been freed.

A Canadian and an Italian aid worker have been kidnapped in the Gaza strip. If past experience is any guide, we should see them released unharmed. The Palestinians are very aware of their PR image. Killing Jews doesn't seem to bother the European audience much, but killing Red Cross workers is quite another matter.

No Burqua is following the story closely. more...

Posted by: Rusty at 05:01 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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The state run Iranian Arabic language TV station, al-Alalam, has broadcast a video from a terrorist group which claimed the abduction of four American and an Austrian.

Some media reprts indicate that "The Islamic Mujahedeen Battalion" was trained in Iran. The fact that the video was broadcast on Iranian TV indicates that that there is at least some connection. However, unlike most hostage videos released by terror organizations in the past, this one did not actually show the hostages.

The US and Iraq has consistently levelled accusations that the Iranian government funds, trains, and encourages acts of terror in Iraq.

Local Iraqi sources indicate that one of the hostages, an Austrian, is dead. One American is also thought to have been freed, say locals in Basra. But there are still conflicting reports over this and no official confirmation. Officials in Baghdad say that the locals are mistaken and that all five hostages are still missing, presumed alive.

From al-Alam's English language website:

A previously unknown group has claimed responsibility for abducting a private security team of four Americans and an Austrian in southern Iraq.

The group, called Islamic Companies [trans: Islamic Mujahidin Battalion], claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

The group released a videotaped message saying that it was holding the five men.

An unidentified man whose face was covered with a checkered Arabic head dress read a statement in which he demanded the withdrawal of US forces and the release of all prisoners in Iraq.

During al-Alam's broadcast, the man's voice was inaudible and the station's presenter said the video was from the group that claimed to have kidnapped the contractors and killed four other Americans.

WaPo reports on the 39 year old Paul Reuben:

One of the four U.S. contractors abducted by insurgents in southern Iraq is a former suburban police officer described by friends and family as an "easygoing, fun-loving type of guy" who was ready to come home.

"He had that classic teddy bear disposition that made people like and care about him," St. Louis Park Police Chief John D. Luse said of Paul Reuben, who has been working as a private security contractor in Iraq....

Their mother said Friday that she hopes the men holding her son "remember their own mothers."

"I want them to think what it's like for a mother to want her son back," Johnnie Mae Reuben told The Associated Press. "I want my son back."

Update by Vinnie: Via Cheese eating surrender monkey Press, Iraqis claim to be closing in on the whereabouts of the hostages.

"We have identified the area where they are held. I can't disclose the place," Mohammed Ali al-Mussawi, chief of operations at police headquarters in the southern city of Basra, told AFP.

Previously: Four Americans Kidnapped in Iraq, Austrian Civilian Killed

Update: by Howie. Rusty asks that we keep up on this story. Good news that we and the Iraqi police are working this hard. Bad news is they have not been found. Has anyone looked in Iran? It seems to me if an Iranian supported group took these men they might try and take them into Iran for safety. iran should look into this. The return of these men could generate some goodwill from the US that Iran amy find to its advantage.

International Herald Tribune: BASRA, Iraq: British and Iraqi forces raided homes in southern Iraq on Monday and arrested four suspects in the kidnapping of four American security guards and their Austrian co-worker, an official said.

The raid, which began late Sunday and ended early Monday morning, took place in Zubair, a mostly Sunni-Arab enclave about 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Basra, Capt. Tane Dunlop, the British military spokesman, told The Associated Press. Most of Britain's 7,200 soldiers in Iraq are based in the city.

On Sunday, Iraqi police showed the media 200 suspected insurgents they had arrested the night before while raiding several areas north of Basra, which is 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad.

Both raids failed to find any of the hostages in southern Iraq, a mostly Shiite region.

The four American security guards and their Austrian co-worker have been missing since Thursday when a large convoy of trucks being escorted by their Crescent Security Group company was hijacked on a highway near Safwan, a largely Sunni Arab city of 200,000 people on the Kuwait border.

Another update by Vinnie: From the "it's an older code, but it still checks out, m'lord" files... Group that took the hostages linked to Mookie.

UPDATE 11/21: Second American hostage identified as 23 year old Jonathon Cote. Hat tip: No Burqua

Posted by: Rusty at 05:52 PM | Comments (13) | Add Comment
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1 Thanks for the update. I linked at http://noburqua.blogspot.com/2006/11/iraq-hostage-update-jawa-report-has.html

Posted by: Vicki at November 18, 2006 12:48 PM (9pO03)

2 It is sad that CNN has come to view their main rivals as the two bearers of the Islamic torch, Al Jazeera and BBC.

Posted by: Speaking for the Choir at November 18, 2006 01:00 PM (HSkSw)

3 They've got Pee Wee?!?!? How could we let this happen.....Cowboy Bob will save him I'm sure....

Posted by: TBinSTL at November 18, 2006 05:48 PM (MSiPb)

4 Screw them.  They are mercenaries

Posted by: Kos at November 18, 2006 06:36 PM (CI4Lt)

5 they are human beings, they are americans. we need to do everything we can so they dont end up in beheading videos. that army of ansar al-sunnah is really hardcore, if they get they hands on those mercs..they will die painfully...we need to send in more troops 2 iraq. or... say fuck the iraqi governmenet fuck al sadr. lets kill the mahdi army. al sadr and all al sadrs supporters. we need to be more hostile.. more violent.... we need to b makin more moves... and moreoperations ijn iraq. we need to kill the jihadis.. all of them and there supporters. where ever in the world they are. let us start killing them.
lets start killing the jihad supporters who r living in america... give me some names... ill get the job done...

Posted by: hank at November 20, 2006 08:33 AM (pU0SG)

6 They are the product of liberal assholes who wish to rebuild Iraq. The more you attempt to help a muslim the more pain you cause yourself and the rest of the world. OUTLAW ISLAM.

Posted by: Greyrooster at November 20, 2006 08:42 AM (R6qo5)

7 The 200 suspected insurgents that were arrested, were they the "usual suspects"?

Posted by: John Ryan at November 20, 2006 03:59 PM (TcoRJ)

8 Nah, John, I heard they were the "unusual suspects". The usual suspects were out setting up roadside bombs.

Posted by: jesusland joe at November 20, 2006 04:09 PM (toCSj)

9 The 200 suspected insurgents that were arrested, were they the "usual suspects"?

But we can't deny the fact that ALL the suspects were brown skinned
Muslim males. When will the libs stand up against this horrific example
of profiling.

Posted by: Randman at November 20, 2006 04:44 PM (Sal3J)

10 I think perhaps those 200 should have been the ones that were arrested.

Posted by: John Ryan at November 20, 2006 06:17 PM (TcoRJ)

11 I hope they get back alright, sinners though they surely are.

I'm sure Kos never made a buck off his time in the service. He would never allow monetary considerations to influence his participation in a volunteer force. Besides, who needs money when you have power?

USA all the way!

Posted by: Michael Weaver at November 21, 2006 02:23 AM (2OHpj)

12

More crap from Iran. Destroy this pimple on the worlds ass.

 

Comment #5 above is right. We need to get more violent. Muslims understand nothing else.

Posted by: Greyrooster at November 21, 2006 05:08 AM (Mgy1K)

13 Why dose that terrorist keep his face hinnen why dont the coward want his face seen?

Posted by: sandpiper at November 21, 2006 04:01 PM (XGDTE)

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UPDATE: 11/18/2006: Terror group with ties to Iran claims Western hostage taking. More recent updates posted here.
--------------------------------

Four American and one Austrian civilian have been kidnapped in Iraq. The five men were part of a convoy heading through the Shia dominated south of Iraq, but are thought to be held in a Sunni area. That part of Iraq is generally patrolled by British forces.

14 people were taken hostage, but the 9 non-Westerners have since been released. The implication I draw from this is that the hostages are being held for money, and that we should expect a ransom demand soon. UPDATE: Speculation is already abounding that the abductions are related to the issuing of an arrest warrant for the top Sunni cleric in Iraq. If this is the case, then the kidnappings are politically motivated. This is bad news if true.

Only the name of one of the Western hostages has been released to the public. he is Paul Reuben of Minnesota. UPDATE: The Austrian hostage, I'm sad to report, has been found dead. One American has been found alive, but wounded. Three Americans still missing. UPDATE: New reports that a second American freed. UPDATE: Reports in flux. New reports indicate all 5 possibly still missing!

Scroll down for updates. Most recent updates near bottom.

The five men work for The Crescent Security Group, which provide security for military, civilian, and diplomatice convoys in Iraq:

Crescent Security Group conducts convoy escort duties for an ever growing number of Coalition Militaries, Embassies, Government Contractors, Private enterprise, transport and freight forwarding companies.

Crescent operates with a minimum configuration of 3 'gun trucks' per convoy with an emphasis on the safety of life, goods under transit and vehicles in our care.

Gun trucks are civilian vehicles upgraded and in house maintained to operate in hostile and extreme climatic environments. They can be of an up-armored, semi-armored or soft skinned configuration, with each carrying all necessities to be self sufficient for extended periods of time

Coalition forces have begun searching for the hostages. CNN:

Coalition forces Friday were searching "aggressively" for five security contractors, including four Americans, who were abducted Thursday during an ambush on their convoy, a military source said.

A spokesman for Crescent Security Group said five of their security personnel were "unaccounted for." The contractors disappeared near Basra on Thursday afternoon....

The supply convoy was traveling from Kuwait, where Crescent operates, to Tallil Airbase near Nasiriya in southern Iraq when it was ambushed, the Crescent spokesman said.

Local militia masquerading as Iraqi police attacked the convoy, using a fake police checkpoint, according to a military source.

British ground forces and U.S. military helicopters fought with gunmen Friday in southern Iraq where four American security contractors and their Austrian co-worker were abducted in a convoy hijacking.

The Austrian was found dead and one of the Americans was found gravely wounded, an Iraqi police officer said. The three Americans who were among the five Crescent Security Group employees taken hostage remained missing in the largely Sunni area....

Capt. Tane Dunlop, a spokesman for British forces who were fighting gunmen in the area where the kidnapping took place, said in a telephone interview from Basra that the hijacking occurred at 1 p.m. Thursday in Safwan, an Iraqi city near the Kuwait border. He said the convoy was coming from Kuwait.

At dawn Friday, British ground forces and helicopters searched an area of Safwan for gunmen who had attacked coalition forces in the past few days when about 10 of them opened fire from farm buildings, Dunlop said. The British and U.S. forces returned fire, Dunlop said.

But a spokesman for the Kuwait-based company employing the contractors said in the early evening that all five victims were still missing.

We also hope that all will put aside partisanship and ideology in rallying around these hostages. You'll remember that when American security contractors were murdered and their bodies desecrated in Fallujah, that Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, of the Daily Kos, said "Screw Them."

MORE UPDATES BELOW more...

Posted by: Rusty at 10:32 AM | Comments (21) | Add Comment
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I fear this will not end well. If history is any guide, this will turn out to be the work of Sunni terrorists who consider all who work for the Iraqi government 'apostates'. Apostasy is a capital offense under Islamic law.

But the Education Minister is Sunni, so it is possible that this is the work of Shia. However, this would be the first time I have heard of a Shia group engaging in mass hostage taking.

I'm disgusted by Democratic calls for withdrawal from Iraq based on the idea that somehow leaving would mean the Iraqi's would pick up the slack. As if Iraqis aren't already dying every day fighting terrorist forces in their own country.

A couple of days ago the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, after hearing about Democratic plans for withdrawal, said he was surprised that the U.S. was planning to leave Iraq so soon. He thought it would take a lot longer to defeat the Americans. He was wrong. more...

Posted by: Rusty at 09:37 AM | Comments (24) | Add Comment
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A Turkish civilian hostage named Yildram Tek has been murdered by the so-called 'Iraqi resistance'. Tek's body was found near the baghdad airport on Nov. 1st, but the Turkish Foreign Ministry only confirmed the victim's identity today.

In July a group calling itself the Lions of Justice (sometimes rendered Lions of Truth or Lions of Righteousness) Brigade kidnapped a Turkish man named Yeldram Tek. A video of Tek was released in which the unknown group demanded that Turkey close down the company which Tek works for and which it claims has contracts with the Coalition in the South of Iraq.

In September, the Brigades of the Lions of Righteousness group released a new video of Yildram (alt, Yeldram) Tek making the same demands. This time the terrorists threatened to murder Yildram Tek if the company was not closed. Tek, who is from Istanbul, was given 72 hours in the ultimatum.

As expected, no words of protestation from the U.N. or any human rights organizations about Geneva Convention violations. Hat tip: George.

Posted by: Rusty at 01:24 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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I don't know whether to admire former hostage in Iraq Norman Kember for his principled stand or to think the worst about him for believing in those same principles which I think are misguided at best and evil at worst. The thought that one shouldn't testify against terrorists because they might receive the death penalty is so foreign to me that I'm speechless.

BBC News:

Former British hostage Norman Kember has said he is unlikely to testify at any trial over his kidnapping in Iraq....

Mr Kember told Channel 4 News he had been informed there had been arrests but said he faced a "moral dilemma" as he was against the death penalty.

The 74-year-old, who was opposed to the US-led action in Iraq, said he "can understand" what motivated the gang.

Posted by: Rusty at 08:12 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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A quick update on the ongoing plight of the American soldier being held hostage in Iraq. Spc. Ahmed K. Altaie was born in Iraq but chose to become an American.

One of his uncles, who is a high-ranking member of Ahmad Chalabi's party, claims to have identified the man responsible for the kidnapping as Majid al-Qais Omran, a.k.a Abu Rami. He also makes the claim that it was a rogue cell of the Mahdi Army who nabbed Altaie.

A friend of Ahmed Altaie's sends along this e-mail.

Your excerpt regarding your theories on the search for Altaie were very encouraging and I want to believe the last theory that they [the Mahdi Army] did not know what they were getting into or are just going to return him without punishment.

God I hope your right,he is my very dear friend I am here in his hometown of Michigan. We have known eachother for 16 years. Thank you for your story it makes me feel a little encouraged.

He is a wonderful man who has a good heart and was trying to make something of himself by being respected and helping both Iraq and the USA.

I pary to god this nightmare is over for all of us here and his family, who are sick inside, what a tortureous act to put people in fear like this.

Thanks for listening.

Keep in mind, there are at least 3 other Americans still being held hostage in Iraq. All three are civilians. They are:

Dean Sadek
Aban Elias
Jeffrey Ake

Do not let them be forgotten.

Posted by: Rusty at 03:50 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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The captors of an American soldier being held hostage in Iraq, Spc. Ahmed K. Altaie, have demanded a ransom for his release. That is good news because it means a) he is still alive b) it was not an al Qaeda linked group, which would make political demands and then kill the hostage c) he will probably make it out of this ordeal alive.

Spc. Ahmed K. Altaie was taken hostage at his wife's home in Baghdad by members of what were thought to be the Shia militia group, the Mahdi Army. Although a U.S. citizen, Altaie is of Iraqi background. He had married a local woman this summer, which is against Army regulations.

The ransom demand seems like fairly definitive proof that speculations that this might be another case like Wassef Ali Hassoun were wrong.

One note is that photos taken of Altaie on a cameraphone by his captors as 'proof of life' showed that he had been beaten severely. We pray that when he is released that there will be swift retribution. And if it is the Mahdi Army that is behind this, that there will be hell to pay. more...

Posted by: Rusty at 02:11 PM | Comments (15) | Add Comment
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I had not even heard that a Greek woman had been taken hostage in Iraq until I found out that she had escaped. Eleni Sotiriou, who is an NGO aid worker, pulled a fast one on the SOBs who kidnapped her. She was in the country to deliver much needee heart medicine, and this is the thanks she got. The filthy bastards who held her hostage should be strung up.

Cheers to the gutsy lady! Her story below. more...

Posted by: Rusty at 01:50 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Great news, Taliban frees Italian hostage Gabriele Torsello. The Italian was a Muslim convert, and cutting the head off such a person doesn't really play to the Taliban's base.

The Taliban had earlier demanded the return of a Christian convert in exile in Italy, Abdul Rahman. Under Islamic law, apostates may receive the death penalty.

BBC:

An Italian photographer kidnapped in Afghanistan last month has been freed, the Italian defence ministry says.

Gabriele Torsello and his Afghan translator were seized three weeks ago while travelling on a bus near Kandahar in southern Afghanistan.

His kidnappers at one point offered to hand him over in return for an Afghan convert to Christianity, who had received asylum in Italy.

It is not clear what has happened to the translator.

One report said Mr Torsello's kidnappers had left him at the side of a road.

Related:
Italian Journo Kidnapped in Afghanistan
Islamist Kidnappers Will Exchange Hostage for Apostate Muslim

Posted by: Rusty at 09:04 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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