Please help me, pleads kidnapped Aussie
May 2, 2005 - 6:19AM
An Australian citizen kidnapped by Iraqi militants has pleaded for US-led coalition forces to leave Iraq to save his life, according to a videotape released today.
The tape showed a man identifying himself as Douglas Wood, 63, seated between two masked militants pointing automatic weapons at him.
A sign shown on the tape carried the name of the militant group responsible for the kidnapping, Shura Council of the Mujahedeen of Iraq. The group has previously claimed responsibility for attacks on US soldiers and Iraqi forces, as well as the kidnapping of Turkish national Aytullah Gezmen, who was freed in September.
Wood's American wife, Pearl, told The Associated Press she has seen the tape and the man being held is definitely her husband. She says he has been working as an engineer in Iraq.
The tape was broadcast on Al-Jazeera television and obtained by Associated Press Television News.
Wood, appearing dishevelled and shaken, said he is a US resident living with his wife in Alamo, California, about 40 km east of San Francisco.
"I'm Australian, a US resident, my wife is an American. We have a house in Alamo, California," he said, adding that he came to Iraq almost a year ago to work on reconstruction projects with the American military.
He appealed to US President George W Bush, Australian Prime Minister John Howard and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to order coalition forces out of Iraq and let Iraqis look after themselves, saying he does not want to die.
"My captors are fiercely patriotic. They believe in a strong united Iraq looking after its own destiny," Wood said on the tape. "They (the Iraqis) are strong, they will be (able to) ... look after themselves against their neighbours. Please help me. I don't want to die."
A spokesman for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Australian authorities are looking into the report. The release of the tape came as Australian Defence Minister Robert Hill visited troops in Iraq.
Wood is the second Australian to be kidnapped in Iraq following October's capture of journalist John Martinkus, who was seized in Baghdad and held for about 24 hours before being freed.
Australia sent 2,000 elite troops to take part in the US-led invasion of Iraq and still has 920 troops in and around the country.
More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq since Saddam Hussein's regime collapsed in April 2003. Some kidnappers have sought ransom, while others pursued political motives such as the withdrawal of foreign companies and troops from Iraq. The kidnappers have killed more than 30 hostages.
AP
God be with you because Bush and Schwarzenegger and Howard
could not care less
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/05/02/1114886266901.html
May 2, 2005 - 6:19AM
An Australian citizen kidnapped by Iraqi militants has pleaded for US-led coalition forces to leave Iraq to save his life, according to a videotape released today.
The tape showed a man identifying himself as Douglas Wood, 63, seated between two masked militants pointing automatic weapons at him.
A sign shown on the tape carried the name of the militant group responsible for the kidnapping, Shura Council of the Mujahedeen of Iraq. The group has previously claimed responsibility for attacks on US soldiers and Iraqi forces, as well as the kidnapping of Turkish national Aytullah Gezmen, who was freed in September.
Wood's American wife, Pearl, told The Associated Press she has seen the tape and the man being held is definitely her husband. She says he has been working as an engineer in Iraq.
The tape was broadcast on Al-Jazeera television and obtained by Associated Press Television News.
Wood, appearing dishevelled and shaken, said he is a US resident living with his wife in Alamo, California, about 40 km east of San Francisco.
"I'm Australian, a US resident, my wife is an American. We have a house in Alamo, California," he said, adding that he came to Iraq almost a year ago to work on reconstruction projects with the American military.
He appealed to US President George W Bush, Australian Prime Minister John Howard and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to order coalition forces out of Iraq and let Iraqis look after themselves, saying he does not want to die.
"My captors are fiercely patriotic. They believe in a strong united Iraq looking after its own destiny," Wood said on the tape. "They (the Iraqis) are strong, they will be (able to) ... look after themselves against their neighbours. Please help me. I don't want to die."
A spokesman for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Australian authorities are looking into the report. The release of the tape came as Australian Defence Minister Robert Hill visited troops in Iraq.
Wood is the second Australian to be kidnapped in Iraq following October's capture of journalist John Martinkus, who was seized in Baghdad and held for about 24 hours before being freed.
Australia sent 2,000 elite troops to take part in the US-led invasion of Iraq and still has 920 troops in and around the country.
More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq since Saddam Hussein's regime collapsed in April 2003. Some kidnappers have sought ransom, while others pursued political motives such as the withdrawal of foreign companies and troops from Iraq. The kidnappers have killed more than 30 hostages.
AP
God be with you because Bush and Schwarzenegger and Howard
could not care less
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/05/02/1114886266901.html
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 4:49 PM
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