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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Italian hostages sold to Zarqawi |
| 2004-09-19 |
| Iraqi kidnappers may have sold two Italian women hostages to militants tied to Al-Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Deputy Iraqi Foreign Minister Hamid al-Bayati has been quoted as saying. "From the information at our disposal, they were kidnapped by criminal organizations that could have sold them to members of Al-Zarqawi's group," al-Bayati said in a local television interview on Friday, according to state news agency ANSA. The Iraqi official, visiting Italy, said he had received information that charity workers Simona Pari and Simona Torretta had been transferred from western Baghdad to the restive town of Falluja. The Italians were kidnapped at gunpoint along with two Iraqis in a brazen, daylight attack in the centre of Baghdad on Sept. 7. When asked during an interview with Tg2 television station whether the women were being held by the same militants who threatened to kill one British and two American hostages in an Internet video, al-Bayati said: "Yes, it could be." He added that kidnappers of the Italian aid workers had reportedly demanded the release of Muslim women held in Iraqi prisons, a similar demand put by Al-Zarqawi's Tawhid and Jihad Group for the release of the Briton and Americans. "But one must look into the case with a lot of attention before deciding who is responsible for this kidnapping," he said. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |