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| Iraq |
| Al-Qaeda in Iraq releases Sudanese hostages |
| 2006-01-05 |
| The five employees of the Sudanese Embassy in Baghdad returned home Wednesday, after their kidnappers released them as part of a deal with their government, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Sudan procured the release of the five after it agreed to close its embassy in Baghdad as the kidnapping group, al Qaeda in Iraq, had demanded. The five hostages -- who included the embassy's second secretary, Abdel-Moneim Mohammed el-Toum -- were reported kidnapped on December 24 and freed on Sunday. They returned to Khartoum via Jordan. A sixth Sudanese, who was initially reported kidnapped, managed to escape, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. The man, a friend of the embassy personnel, is believed to have remained in Iraq. Al Qaeda in Iraq had set a deadline of December 31 for killing the hostages unless Sudan publicly declared it would sever relations with Baghdad. Al Qaeda in Iraq has kidnapped and killed a string of Arab diplomats and embassy employees in a campaign to intimidate Arab governments from restoring full diplomatic relations with Iraq. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 This is fully in keeping with the stated objectives of the terrorists, namely to cut off Iraq from the rest of the world by attacking diplomats. The fact that this is outrageous behavior is strangely passed over by the media. |
| Posted by: gromky 2006-01-05 16:15 |
| #1 And in true Sudanese form they quickly cave in to pressure from a band of murderers. They tell the rest of the entire world to go screw themselves over the Darfur situation, but immediately give in to al qaeda. Dude , what the hell is wrong with sudanese people? |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2006-01-05 08:08 |