INDEPTH: IRAQ
Foreign hostages in Iraq
CBC News Online | June 22, 2006
More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq. Kidnappers have demanded the release of Iraqi prisoners, the withdrawal of troops, and ransoms for the hostages' release. Some have been released, but about one-third of them have been killed. Others are believed to be still held hostage in Iraq.
Several Canadians have been kidnapped, including two peace activists on Nov. 26, 2005. Christian Peacemaker Teams confirmed the two were doing work for the group in Iraq when they were captured, along with an American and a Briton. The group works with detained Iraqis. Three days later, Al-Jazeera television broadcast video from a previously unknown group, Swords of Righteousness Brigade, calling them "spies of occupying forces." The American, Tom Fox, was later killed. The two Canadians, James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden were freed March 23 by an international military operation.
Several Canadians have been kidnapped, including two peace activists on Nov. 26, 2005. Christian Peacemaker Teams confirmed the two were doing work for the group in Iraq when they were captured, along with an American and a Briton. The group works with detained Iraqis. Three days later, Al-Jazeera television broadcast video from a previously unknown group - Swords of Righteousness Brigade – calling them "spies of occupying forces."
As well, hundreds of Iraqis have been kidnapped and held for ransom, a common occurrence that largely goes unreported. Iraqi militants have also kidnapped and killed Iraqi soldiers.
» Currently held hostages
» Foreign hostages killed
Many foreign hostages have also been released from Iraq.
Canadian Naji al Kawaiti was taken hostage April 3, 2004. His captors demanded a $50,000 ransom. Al Kawaiti was released May 4, 2004. The Department of Foreign Affairs said its officials played an important role in the release.
Iraqi militants freed Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz on July 20, 2004, two weeks after taking him hostage to force the Philippine government to pull its troops from Iraq. De la Cruz was dropped off on the steps of the United Arab Emirates' Embassy in Baghdad. The Philippines withdrew its 51 soldiers from Iraq a month early on July 16 to meet the demands.
French journalists Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot disappeared Aug. 20, 2004, as they were heading to Najaf. They were initially held in a suburb of Baghdad, but moved to four other locations before being released Dec. 22, 2004. The French government said the release was negotiated through intermediaries and denied paying a ransom.
Giuliana Sgrena, an Italian journalist, was kidnapped outside a Baghdad mosque on Feb. 4, 2005. Iraqi militants threatened on an online bulletin board to kill Sgrena unless Italy withdrew its 3,000 troops from Iraq. On Feb. 16, the Associated Press received a videotape showing Sgrena pleading for her life, asking the Italian government to "end the occupation."
Sgrena was released March 4, after Italian intelligence officer Nicola Calipari negotiated with her captors. Shortly after her release, U.S. soldiers fired on the car carrying her and Calipari as it approached a checkpoint. Calipari was killed and Sgrena was hit in the shoulder by shrapnel. Calipari had shielded Sgrena from the gunfire with his body.
Sgrena later suggested the U.S. soldiers wanted to kill her. Soldiers at the checkpoint said the car was speeding toward them and ignored orders to stop. An Italian investigation concluded that stress and inexperience on the soldiers' part led to Calipari's death, but that his death was not deliberate.
Three Romanian journalists and their Iraqi-American guide were freed in late May 2005 after nearly two months in captivity in Iraq. They had appeared on Al-Jazeera saying they would be killed if Romania failed to withdraw its troops.
Florence Aubenas, a French reporter for the daily Libération, and her Iraqi interpreter and guide, Hussein Hanoun, were released in June 2005 after being held hostage for five months.
In mid-June 2005, Australian Prime Minister John Howard announced that Douglas Wood, a 63-year-old engineering consultant, had been rescued in a military operation. Wood had been held for six weeks in Iraq. Shortly after Wood's capture, his abductors gave the Australian government an ultimatum to pull its troops from Iraq or he would be killed.
In January 2006, Jill Carroll, a freelance reporter for the Christian Science Monitor, was grabbed when gunmen ambushed her car and killed her translator shortly after she left the offices of a Sunni Arab politician. On Jan. 17, Al Jazeera aired a videotape of Carroll. An accompanying message said Carroll would be killed unless the U.S. released all female prisoners in Iraq within 72 hours. Carroll was released by her captors on March 30, after nearly three months as a hostage.
Currently held hostages
NAME
|
NATIONALITY |
DATE OF CAPTURE |
| Ibrahim al-Sayyid al-Hilali |
Egyptian |
Dec. 9, 2005 |
| Note: Grabbed at his house by masked gunmen. The Egyptian national was working as a translator for the U.S. military in Tikrit, where there is a U.S. base. |
| Ronald Schulz |
American |
Dec. 6, 2005 |
| Note: Al-Jazeera broadcast a video in which the Islamic Army of Iraq threatened to execute Schulz within 48 hours unless the U.S. released all Iraqi prisoners. Schulz is a security consultant. |
| Four unnamed hostages |
Iranian |
Nov. 29, 2005 |
| Note: Four men and two women were kidnapped north of Baghdad. The two women were subsequently released. |
| Ihab al-Sherif |
Egyptian |
July 2, 2005 |
| Note: al-Sherif is an Egyptian diplomat. He was expected to become the first Arab ambassador to Iraq's new government. Only in the country a few weeks, he was accosted when he stopped to buy a newspaper, then pistol-whipped and accused of being an "American spy." |
| Ali Musluoglu |
Turkish |
May 19, 2005 |
| Note: A businessman kidnapped in Baghdad. |
| Rami Daas |
Palestinian |
May 9, 2005 |
| Note: Daas's family says the student was kidnapped at gunpoint in Mosul. |
| Jeffrey Ake
|
American
|
April 11, 2005 |
Note: Al-Jazeera aired a videotape of Ake urging the U.S. government to withdraw from Iraq and negotiate with his captors.
CBC STORY: Australian hostage's fate unknown as deadline passes
CBC STORY: Al-Jazeera shows video of U.S. hostage in Iraq
|
| Nabil Tawfiq Sulieman, Matwali Mohammed Qassem |
Egyptian |
March 19, 2005 |
|
Note: The National Movement of the Land of Two Rivers claimed responsibility for the abduction of the Egyptian engineers on a video that appeared on an Islamic website.
|
| Ibrahim al-Maharmen |
Jordanian |
March 5, 2005 |
|
Note: The Jordanian Foreign Ministry said his captors demanded $250,000 US ransom.
|
| Joao Jose Vasconcellos |
Brazilian |
Jan. 19, 2005 |
|
Note: The engineer was abducted in an attack that killed an Iraqi and a British security officer.
|
|
CBC STORY: French journalist abducted in Iraq appears on video |
| Abdulkadir Tanrikulu |
Turkish |
Jan. 13, 2005 |
| Badri Ghazi Abu Hamzah |
Lebanese |
Nov. 13, 2004 |
| Radim Sadiq |
American |
Nov. 2, 2004 |
|
Note: The Lebanese-American businessman was shown in a video that aired Nov. 11. |
| Roy Hallums, Roberto Tarongoy |
American, Filipino |
Nov. 1, 2004 |
|
Note: Works for a Saudi company that does catering for the Iraqi army. Hallums appeared in a videotape Jan. 25, 2005, pleading for help from Arab leaders.
|
| Aban Elias |
American |
May 3, 2004 |
|
Note: The Iraqi-American civil engineer from Denver was kidnapped by Islamic Rage Brigade.
|
| Rifat Mohammed Rifat |
Canadian |
April 8, 2004 |
|
Note: Rifat was last seen leaving work at a prison west of Baghdad, where he was doing repair work for a Saudi company.
|
Foreign hostages killed
NAME
|
NATIONALITY |
DATE OF CAPTURE |
| Four diplomats |
Russian |
June 22, 2006 |
Note: An Iraqi militant group calling itself the Mujahedeen Shura Council said it was responsible for the abduction of four Russian diplomats on June 3, 2006. The group threaten to kill the men unless Russia withdraws its troops from Chechnya. On June 22, through a web posting the group said it had killed the hostages.
CBC STORY: Web posting says Russian hostages sentenced to death (June 22, 2006)
CBC STORY: Iraqi gunmen kill Russian diplomat, kidnap four (June 3, 2006)
|
Pte. 1st Class Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Texas
Pte. 1st Class Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Oregon |
American |
June 19, 2006 |
Note: The bodies of the two U.S. soldiers were found in Yusufiya; they had been kidnapped at a checkpoint four days earlier.
CBC STORY: Missing U.S. soldiers found dead in Iraq (June 20, 2006)
|
| Tom Fox |
American |
March 10, 2006 |
Note:Fox's body was found in Baghdad. Iraqi authorities say his body showed signs of being tortured. He had been shot several times.
CBC STORY: Military operation frees two Canadian hostages in Iraq
|
| Ihab al-Sherif |
Egyptian |
July 2, 2005 |
| Note: al-Sherif was an Egyptian diplomat. He was expected to become the first Arab ambassador to Iraq's new government. Only in the country a few weeks, he was accosted when he stopped to buy a newspaper, then pistol-whipped and accused of being an "American spy." On July 7, Al-Qaeda in Iraq said in a web posting that it had executed him. |
| Akihiko Saito |
Japanese |
May 9, 2005 |
Note: Saito's younger brother confirmed in late May that a dead man pictured on the website of an Iraqi militant group was his brother.
CBC STORY: Kidnapped Japanese guard in Iraq may be dead
|
| Six unidentified |
Sudan |
April 28, 2005 |
| Note: Islamic militant group Army of Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the deaths in a video posted on the internet. |
| Ibrahim Mohammed Ismail |
Egyptian |
Jan. 16, 2005 |
| Note: Supporters of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi beheaded the Egyptian driver. The act was videotaped and posted on the internet.
|
| Salvatore Santoro |
Italian |
Dec. 16, 2004 |
| Note: Santoro was an Italian photographer working for a British non-governmental organization. His blindfolded body was shown to Iraqi journalists as proof.
|
| Margaret Hassan |
British-Irish-Iraqi |
Nov. 16, 2004 |
Note: Aid worker Margaret Hassan was kidnapped in Baghdad on Oct. 19, 2004. Her captors shot her nearly a month later.
CBC NEWS: Requiem held for Margaret Hassan
CBC NEWS: Kidnapped CARE director believed dead
CBC NEWS: Abducted relief worker pleads for her life
|
| Unidentified hostage |
Jordanian |
Nov. 2, 2004 |
| Shosei Koda |
Japanese |
Oct. 30, 2004 |
| Note: Koda was reportedly killed while backpacking in Iraq. |
| Dragan Markovic, Dalibor Lazarevski, and Zoran Naskovski. |
Macedonian |
Oct. 18, 2004 |
| Note: The three were kidnapped near Baghdad Aug. 21. Al-Jazeera aired part of a video from the Islamic Army in Iraq, and said the unaired portions of the tape showed the beheading of the hostages. |
| Ramazan Elbu |
Turkish |
Oct. 14, 2004 |
| Note: A video of Elbu's beheading was posted on the website of the Army of Ansar al-Sunna. |
| Maher Kemal |
Turkish |
Oct. 11, 2004 |
| Note: Kemal was a contractor in Iraq. A video of his beheading was posted in the internet. |
| Kenneth Bigley
| Britain |
Oct. 7, 2004 |
Note: Bigley was captured with two Americans, Jack Hensley and Eugene Armstrong, on Sept. 16, 2004. At least two videos depicting the hostages were released on the web in the name of Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Bigley's American co-workers were killed earlier.
CBC NEWS: Hostage's killing 'barbaric,' Blair says
CBC NEWS: New video of British hostage aired
CBC NEWS: Blair says there's little he can do to save British hostage in Iraq
CBC NEWS: British hostage pleads for his life
|
| Unidentified |
Turkish |
Oct. 4, 2004 |
| Note: Al-Jazeera said it received a video from Salafist Brigades of Abu Bakr Al-Sidiq claiming responsibility.
|
| Yilmaz Dabca |
Turkish |
Oct. 2, 2004 |
| Iyad Anwar Wali |
Italian-Iraqi |
Oct. 2, 2004 |
| Jack Hensley |
American |
Sept. 21, 2004 |
Note: Hensley was kidnapped with another American, Eugene Armstrong, and Kenneth Bigley, a British national. His killing was reported in an internet message and his headless body was later recovered and identified by his family.
CBC NEWS: Another U.S. hostage beheaded, says website
|
| Akar Besir |
Turkish |
Sept. 21, 2004 |
|
Note: Besir was named on Turkish television and his body found near Mosul.
|
| Eugene Armstrong |
American |
Sept. 20, 2004 |
Note: Armstrong was kidnapped with Hensley and Bigley. A video of his beheading was posted on a website used by Islamic militant groups.
CBC NEWS: American hostage beheaded: video
CBC NEWS: Video shows U.S., U.K. hostages: Al-Jazeera
|
| Durmus Kumdereli |
Turkish |
Sept. 13, 2004 |
|
Note: The video of the Turkish driver's killing was posted on a website known to carry messages from Tawhid and Jihad.
|
| Nasser Juma |
Egyptian |
Sept. 5, 2004 |
| Twelve unnamed hostages |
Nepalese |
Aug. 31, 2004 |
| Note: A video posted on the internet showed one hostage being beheaded and the other 11 being shot in the head.
|
| Enzo Baldoni |
Italian |
Aug. 26, 2004 |
| Note: The Islamic Army in Iraq had threatened the Italian Journalist's life.
|
| Mohammed Mutawalli |
Egyptian |
Aug. 10, 2004 |
| Note: Mutawalli was confirmed dead after a video was released of his beheading.
|
| Raja Azad Khan, Sajad Naeem |
Pakistan |
July 28, 2004 |
Note: The Islamic Army in Iraq said they were killed because Pakistan considered being part of a foreign Muslim force in Iraq.
CBC NEWS: Pakistani hostages killed: report
|
| Murat Yuce |
Turkish |
Aug. 2, 2004 |
| Note: Followers of al-Zarqawi released a video of Yuce being shot and killed.
|
| Ivailo Kepov |
Bulgaria |
July 22, 2004 |
| Note: Tawhid and Jihad threatened to kill Kepov and his compatriot, Georgi Lazov, both truck drivers, if the U.S. didn't withdraw its troops. Kepov's body was found on July 22, and identified Aug. 11.
|
| Georgi Lazov |
Bulgarian |
July 13, 2004 |
CBC NEWS: Insurgents kill Bulgarian hostage: Al-Jazeera (July 13, 2004)
CBC NEWS: Iraqi group threatens death to Bulgarian hostages (July 8, 2004)
|
| Keith Matthew Maupin |
American |
June 28, 2004 |
| Note: Footage of the killing was shown on Al-Jazeera television
|
| Kim Sun-il |
South Korea |
June 22, 2004 |
Note: The South Korean translator was beheaded by followers of al-Zarqawi.
CBC NEWS: Militants behead South Korean captive: report (June 22, 2004)
|
| Hussein Ali Alyan |
Lebanese |
June 12, 2004 |
| Nick Berg |
American |
May 11, 2004 |
Note: A video of followers of al-Zarqawi beheading Berg was posted on a website linked to al-Qaeda.
CBC NEWS: American civilian beheaded by captors in Iraq (May 11, 2004)
|
| Fabrizio Quattrocchi |
Italian |
April 14, 2004 |
| Note: The Green Battalion claimed responsibility for the death of this Italian security guard.
|
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