Hostage grab jolts Iraq
By Mariam KarounyBaghdad
April 17, 2005

Sunni guerillas took at least 60 people hostage in a town near Baghdad on Friday and threatened to kill them unless Shiites left the area, a Shiite official quoted residents as saying.

That incident, and bombings three days in a row that killed at least 34 people, suggest insurgents have regrouped after a lull since Iraq's January 30 national poll.

The official said: "People from the town called me begging the Iraqi Government to save their relatives who are hostages. They told me there are at least 60 hostages."

Insurgents with heavy weapons appeared to have taken control of the mixed Sunni and Shiite town of Madaen, just south of Baghdad, and no police or government forces were in sight, said the official.

"The residents told me the insurgents were wandering the streets in cars and warning people on loudspeakers that if Shiites wanted the hostages to be safe they must leave town," he said.

Guerillas have taken control of cities before, but seizing many hostages in a town so close to the capital will put pressure on Iraq's new leaders to provide the improved security voters have expected since the election.

With politicians continuing to manoeuvre around sectarian minefields, it has not been possible to form a full government

http://www.theage.com.au/news/Iraq/Hostage-grab-jolts-Iraq/2005/04/16/1113509965871.html