A Sunni militant group threatened on Wednesday to kill a group of Iranian soldiers kidnapped along the Pakistan border if Iran refuses to release 16 comrades, Al-Arabiya satellite channel reported. The Dubai-based news channel broadcast a videotape showing a group of soldiers lined up against a background of rubble, allegedly appealing for their government to respond to the demands of the Iranian group Jundallah (Soldiers of God) so that they could âgo back home safelyâ, the newscaster said.A spokesman was shown next to the group but could not be heard. Al-Arabiya referred to eight soldiers who had been kidnapped, though an earlier report on the satellite channel had said nine. Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi said earlier that he was hopeful that the group of border guards kidnapped in Sistan-Balochistan province near the Pakistani border would soon be freed. âWe are making every effort to find a peaceful solution to the hostage-taking on our eastern border,â the minister told the official Iranian News Agency. âIn the next few days, we will witness good news on this matter.â
Iranian officials have released few details of the abduction in the lawless southeastern borderlands. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said on Tuesday it was believed that the hostages had been smuggled across the frontier into Pakistan, but declined to give their number or say who he held responsible.