2 more hostages taken in Baghdad Egyptian engineers kidnapped, Iraq official says
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- As the fate of a British hostage remains unclear, two Egyptian engineers have been kidnapped from their Baghdad office, according to an Iraqi Interior Ministry official. Armed kidnappers tied up the guards outside the engineers' office in western Baghdad on Thursday night, put the two Egyptians in a black BMW and took them to an unknown location, according to Col. Adnan Abdul Rahman. Rahman said the Egyptians worked for Iraqna, a subsidiary of the Egyptian-owned mobile telecommunications company Orascom. The latest kidnappings came as Britain awaited news Friday of Kenneth Bigley, facing death in Iraq. Desperate but unanswered pleas to release him have taken their toll on his family. His mother Lil, who made a televised appeal for his kidnappers to "show mercy," was taken to hospital shortly afterwards in the northern English city of Liverpool feeling "unwell," police said. It was unclear precisely what she was treated for. (Full story) Bigley, 62, was abducted last Thursday along with two Americans from their Baghdad residence. The three men were in Iraq working on reconstruction projects for the Middle Eastern company, Gulf Supplies and Commercial Services. The two Americans were beheaded Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday Bigley appeared on an Islamic Web site tearfully pleading for his life and asked for British Prime Minister Tony Blair to intervene. His Iraqi captors, who are demanding that Muslim women being held in Iraqi prisons be freed, beheaded two of his American colleagues earlier this week. U.S. and Iraqi authorities have said there are no women in Iraqi prisons, but two "high value" female detainees are being held in an undisclosed location. Bigley's son, Craig, urged the captors to spare his father. "Be merciful, as we know you can be. Release Ken back to his wife and family. We ask you, as a family, to be all merciful," he said late Wednesday. Bigley's captors said he would face the same fate unless the British government met their demand to release Muslim women from Iraqi prisons. U.S. officials said the only women currently held in Iraq are the two "high value detainees" -- both held at Camp Cropper near the Baghdad airport, according to Iraqi sources. The interim Iraqi government Thursday reiterated it had no imminent plans to release any detainees -- as have Washington officials. Bigley's son, brothers and wife, who lives in Thailand, have also begged the captors to release him. "My husband, Ken, is an ordinary, hardworking family man who wanted to help the people of Iraq amongst whom he has made many friends," Sombat Bigley said, according to a translation from The Associated Press. "As a loving wife, I beg you once more for mercy." The crisis has put the UK government in a tough position, said CNN Correspondent Robyn Curnow. Blair, who has faced personal criticism by Bigley's family for failing to free him, refuses to negotiate with terrorists but says he is deeply concerned for the family. Since April, militant groups in Iraq have seized more than 100 hostages. Most have been released but about 30 have been killed. The Italian government has warned that reports of two Italian women being held captive in Iraq have been killed are "unreliable." (Full story) "We, therefore, urge the maximum caution, care and responsibility," the office of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said in a written statement. Simona Torretta and Simona Pari, both 29, were working for a humanitarian group called Bridge to Baghdad when their office was raided by insurgents more than two weeks ago and they were taken hostage, police said. Two separate groups claimed to have killed the women. Ten Turkish employees of a construction company, Vinsan, are also being held hostage in Iraq. Video of the hostages aired on al-Jazeera last weekend. On Thursday Turkey's government said it was considering an alternative route for its truck drivers bringing goods into neighboring Iraq in an effort to stem kidnappings. (Full story) Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/09/24/iraq.hostages/index.html ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/uTGrlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
