Diplomatic efforts are continuing to try to locate an Irish newspaper journalist feared kidnapped in Iraq. Rory Carroll, a 33-year-old Iraq correspondent for the Guardian, is reported to have been taken by armed men while on assignment in Baghdad. The paper's editor, Alan Rusbridger, said the paper was "deeply concerned" at his disappearance.
| I confess I'm somewhat less concerned. |
Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern says his department is ready to offer any assistance required.
Mr Rusbridger appealed to those holding Mr Carroll to release him. "He is in Iraq as a professional journalist - and he's a very good, straight journalist whose only concern is to report fairly and truthfully about the country," he said. "We urge those holding him to release him swiftly - for the sake of his family and for the sake of anyone who believes the world needs to be kept fully informed about events in Iraq today."
The Irish Anti-War Movement has also called for his release and said it would be contacting anti-occupation groups in Baghdad to try to secure his freedom. Chairman Richard Boyd Barrett said the journalist was "entirely innocent of any crime against the Iraqi people", adding: "No cause will be served by keeping him in captivity or harming him in any way."
| Especially if you send all the money the terrorists are demanding. |
He said Mr Carroll had attempted to provide balanced coverage of the Iraqi conflict, often exposing "the bloody reality of the war and occupation launched by George Bush and Tony Blair".
Mr Carroll, from Dublin, was interviewed from Baghdad on Wednesday morning for RTE radio's Pat Kenny Show about the start of Saddam Hussein's trial. A few hours later, his family was informed by the editor of the Guardian that he had been "taken".
The paper said Mr Carroll had been in Baghdad with two drivers and an interpreter to interview a victim of the former dictator's regime. As he left the house where the interview had taken place, he was confronted by gunmen and he and one of the drivers bundled into a car. The driver was released about 20 minutes later.
His father, Joe told the BBC: "It was something we had been secretly dreading. We were hoping it would never happen." Mr Carroll said his son had received specialised training for such situations. "He knew we were worried but he used to reassure us and say it wasn't as dangerous as people outside think and if you observed basic rules of security, you'd be okay," he said. "We knew he was playing it down for our sake. It was obvious danger.
The leader of Fine Gael in the Republic of Ireland, Enda Kenny, said his disappearance was a "major cause of concern". "I assume the minister for foreign affairs will take a direct and personal interest in this.
"Obviously when anybody is kidnapped it is a cause of concern but as this is an Irish citizen it brings it in to sharper focus for us here."
The British Foreign Office said it was in touch with the Irish authorities about Mr Carroll's disappearance.
His disappearance came on the first anniversary of the abduction in Baghdad of Dublin-born aid worker Margaret Hassan, who was later apparently killed.
| Apparently? As I recall, there was a body, even Inspector Legume could figure this one out. |
A graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, Mr Carroll started his career at the Irish News in Belfast, where he was named Northern Ireland young journalist of the year in 1997. He later joined the Guardian as a home news reporter, and was made South Europe correspondent in 1999. He was the paper's South Africa correspondent before going to Iraq. |