Human remains identified as those of an Italian hostage killed by his Iraqi captors last month were handed over Friday to the Italian Red Cross in Baghdad. Four Italian men working in Iraq as private security guards were kidnapped on April 12 as they took a taxi from Baghdad. One of these, Fabrizio Quattrocchi, was later executed -an act recorded on videotape.
Italian Red Cross spokesman Fabrizio Centofanti said the victim’s remains had been handed to the group’s chief official in the Iraqi capital, Maurizio Scelli. The person who delivered the remains identified them as belonging to Quattrocchi, he said, adding that they were unrecognizable.
He gave no information on the person who handed over the remains, or on the fate of the remaining three Italian hostages. An Iraqi armed group calling itself the Green Brigade has said it is behind the abductions, and has made numerous threats and demands. After numerous hopeful signs that the three might be released, the government asked for silence on the matter as it pursued their release. |