U.S. forces stormed a house to free four Egyptian telecommunications engineers kidnapped in Iraq, the head of their Egyptian parent company told Egyptian television on Monday. Naguib Sawiris, chairman of Orascom Telecom, said the four Egyptians were safe and the company had contacted their families to inform them that they were free. He was speaking from Algeria to an Egyptian state television program.
A U.S. military spokesman said he was unable immediately to confirm the report, but the military had heard media reports and were making checks. The men were employed by a unit of the Egyptian telecoms firm Orascom, which has several contracts in Iraq, including running the Iraqna mobile phone service in Baghdad. They were working on a contract to install transmission towers around Baghdad, a company official said. Scores of foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq over the past year. Some have been released -- often after payment of ransoms -- but several have been killed by militant groups. Many more Iraqis have been kidnapped, usually for ransom. |