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Italy says hostage died like hero
An Italian hostage shot dead in Iraq tried to look his killers in the eye and died like a hero, says Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini.
| A man, unlike the savages who killed him... |
Frattini told reporters that Fabrizio Quattrocchi, one of four Italian security guards abducted outside Baghdad, was hooded when his kidnappers put a gun to his head. "When the murderers were pointing a pistol at him, this man tried to take off his hood and shouted: âNow Iâm going to show you how an Italian diesâ. And they killed him," Frattini said. "He died a hero." Quattrocchiâs kidnappers handed over a tape of the killing to the Arab news channel al Jazeera which refused to broadcast the scene, saying it was too bloody.
| Oh, c'mon. Savages like that sort of thing... |
However, an Italian diplomat viewed the tape and relayed the details to Rome. Quattrocchi left for Iraq in November to work as a security guard. The 36-year-old, who was specially trained to guard oil pipelines, was earning up to 10,000 euros (6,700 pounds) a month and saving to buy a house with his fiancee, Italian media said. But until his kidnapping, his mother thought the former baker was working in Kosovo. His kidnappers, a previously unheard of group, threatened to kill the other three Italian hostages if Italy does not withdraw its troops from Iraq and its support from the United States. Rome has rejected bowing to such pressure.
Posted by: Phil B 2004-04-15 |
