In November 2006 Joshua Munns, Jonathon Cote, John Young, Bert Nussbaumer, and Paul Reuben were taken hostage near Basra by a group calling itself "The Islamic Mujahedeen Battalion", a group feared to have links to the Iranian goverment. The five worked for the Crescent Security Group, a private firm which guarded civilian convoys.

In January a video was released showing the hostages alive. The five have now been missing 277 days.

Yesterday Roy Hallums, who was held hostage in Iraq for nearly two years, talked in a conference call to four of the families. The fact that Roy was held for so long and yet survived the ordeal gives hope that these men are still alive.

The Columbian:

"A lot of us were reassured by talking with him," said Jackie Stewart, 44, of Brush Prairie, who is the mother of one of the hostages, Joshua Munns, 24, of Redding, Calif. "Roy has been there, and he got out. He's a nice man. We felt less alone and a lot better after talking to him."

The families are working to raise money to support their sons, husbands and brothers when they are released. Hallums told them to go ahead if that makes them feel better, but he said the U.S. government's efforts are key.

He was found, he said, because U.S. agents were able to capture an Iraqi who knew where he was being held....

He said the families of the captured contractors should speak publicly as they wish about the hostages, but only in generalities.

"No amount of cheers on TV is going to get them free," he said. "But the families want to do something, and if they want to, if it makes them feel better, then go ahead and do it. Just don't do anything that is going to hurt the situation."

He wishes the FBI, CIA and state department would tell the families more of what is going on in efforts to free hostages.

He said he trusts the government, which insists on working in secret. He now works as a consultant on terrorism. This week, he was at Fort Lewis, advising troops getting ready to deploy to Iraq.

Friends and families of the hostages have set up several websites on their behalf.

The Missing Warrior Project
Hostage Recovery Team
Save Five!
Free Jonathon Cote
Paul Rubens Website

Related: Jawa Report Hostage Archive
Four Americans & One Australian Kidnapped in Iraq
Kidnapped Security Contractors Alive
Crescent Security Hostage Video
Friend Of Hostage Paul Reuben Speaks Out
New Hope for 5 Hostages?
Roy Hallums

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