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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Mass kidnapping may be a tribal dispute |
| 2005-04-18 |
| Distraught relatives of Shi'ite Muslim hostages apparently being held by Sunni gunmen near Baghdad have pleaded for their release and said they had been targeted for sectarian reasons. A Shi'ite official said up to 150 hostages were taken on Friday and were being held in Madaen, about 40km south-east of Baghdad. But details about the kidnappings have been murky since reports surfaced late on Friday, including the numbers of those kidnapped and security forces' efforts to free them. No group claimed responsibility for the kidnappings, and an Internet statement issued in the name of al-Qaeda's wing in Iraq said the crisis was fabricated as a pretext for raiding the town and attacking Sunni Muslims. Kidnapping for political reasons and for ransom has plagued Iraq during an insurgency against US and government forces. None of those questioned by Reuters Television could say when their relatives were abducted. Men in the group said about 30 people from the nearby Shi'ite village of Huriya had been seized, and blamed a rival Sunni tribe. "We know them individually, they are all from the area," said a man who did not give his name. At Salman Pak, a few hundred protesters waved green banners, a symbol of Islam used by Shi'ites, and chanted slogans calling for the hostages' release. "They kidnapped more than 25 individuals, and we are a peaceful people," one man said. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |