WAR: American and Italian Civilians Reported Captured in Iraq

Iraqi rebels have reportedly captured two Americans and four Italians on the western outskirts of Baghdad. The tactic of hostage taking is a page pulled from the operating handbook of the Hezbollah known to be supporting al-Sadr's cause.

Coalition officials have now confirmed that two American soldiers and "several" American civilian contractors are unaccounted for and presumed captured after a raid west of Baghdad on a fuel convoy.
Italian officials have not yet confirmed reports of captured Italian citizens.
One American civilian has been confirmed as captured and being held hostage. A video tape was shown on Al Jazeera television showing the man, who identified himself as Thomas Hamill. He is an employee of a Halliburton subsidiary.

washingtonpost.com

Hamill appeared to be in good health on the video and indicated that his captors are giving him food and a place to sleep. A statement accompanying the video stated that Hamill will be "treated worse than those who were killed and burned in Fallujah" if Coalition forces did not leave Fallujah by 10pm EST Saturday.
Coalition forces and insurgents in Fallujah reached a temporary cease-fire starting Sunday, but it does not appear that the military will withdraw from the city.

"U.S. soldiers in a tank in the area near the village of al-Dhahab al-Abyad said they knew some Americans had been taken hostage, but had no details"

In a possibly related development the rebels have taken control of the highway between Abu Gharib and Fallujah further west. I am speculating they do this in an effort to move the hostages to a more secure area quite possibly in the larger city of Fallujah where the U.S. has not regained full control.
Insurgants take highway
Hezbollah's Iraq Campaign

The reactions of foreign leaders on the recent kidnappings as reported at MSNBC show mainly resolve and support for the coalition.

* Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said on Friday he feared Australian aid workers in Iraq could be kidnapped, but said the country would not be blackmailed into pulling its troops out. �It�s not so much the Australian embassy staff and officials who would be at risk of being kidnapped, it�s much more aid workers,� Downer told reporters.
* Despite the brief abduction of seven missionaries, South Korea stood by plans to deploy 3,000 troops to Iraq, but has imposed a virtual ban on civilian travel to the country, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said, adding that a military survey team would leave for Iraq on Friday. South Korea�s defense minister told local media that he hoped to send the troops to Iraq by June 13.
* Poland's Prime Minister Leszek Miller said Thursday he expected more public pressure to pull Polish troops out, but he insisted that his country would not abandon the U.S.-led coalition.
*Italy�s defense minister said Italian troops would stay, rejecting opposition calls to pull out after clashes that left 15 Iraqis dead and a dozen Italians injured.
*Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Thai troops had been ordered to stay inside their camp in the southern city of Kerbala, 60 miles south of Baghdad, until fighting eased.
* Kazakhstan will keep its contingent of some 30 servicemen in Iraq as long as there are no serious casualties, a government source said on Friday.

[Edited on 11-4-2004 by Banshee]

[Edited on 11-4-2004 by SkepticOverlord]

[Edited on 4-13-2004 by Valhall]

We posted at the same time but I have different information. Here's mine. I'll request my other thread be removed.

This article is short but due to its relevance (American hostages) I am submitting it in its entirety as my paraphrasing would be just as long.

url: www.washingtonpost.com...

Iraqi Insurgents Say Seize Six Foreigners

Reuters
Friday, April 9, 2004; 10:08 AM


ABU GHRAIB, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi insurgents said they had seized four Italians and two Americans on the western outskirts of Baghdad on Friday.



A Reuters journalist saw two captive foreigners, said by the insurgents to be Italians, in a mosque in a village in the Abu Ghraib district. One was wounded in the shoulder. Both were weeping.

U.S. soldiers in a tank in the area near the village of al-Dhahab al-Abyad said they knew some Americans had been taken hostage, but had no details.

"That's why we are sealing off the road," said one soldier.

Insurgents told Reuters they had captured four Italians traveling in a four-wheel-drive vehicle with weapons in it. They said they had seized the Americans in a separate attack.

They took the journalist to a mosque, surrounded by about 40 fighters with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles, where they said all the hostages had been taken.

The two foreigners could be seen from a distance, but the fighters did not allow them to be filmed.

Just so you'll know I have been trying to upgrade this to a TA-ATTACKS story, but this is my first day of editorshipness, and my editorizing doesn't seem to work yet.

Why are Italians in Iraq anyway?

To provide an update on the Italians, The Italian foreign ministery is claiming no Italians are hostage.

Xing Hua Story

" According to the sources, Italian representative in Baghdad Giandomenico De Martino has been tasked by Frattini to check on the whereabouts of all Italians known to be in Iraq, including journalists, non-governmental organization "Un ponte per ... (A Bridge for...)," NGO volunteers and ministry experts sent there on special assignments"

" At the moment, no one appears to be missing, the sources said."

Originally posted by Illmatic67
Why are Italians in Iraq anyway?

The Italians are in Iraq to provide peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance as part of the coalition

The Italian Red Cross also has about 39 members in Iraq also.

Small text item on Drudge report with no link now says "US unaware of Americans kidnapped in Iraq..." The Reuters report may take some time to prove or disprove its veracity, this is understandable bearing in mind all that is happening in Iraq at the moment.

Originally posted by Illmatic67
Why are Italians in Iraq anyway?

Because "if you're not with us, you're with the terrorists."

Wire reports are just now confirming that at least 2 American soldiers & "several other Americans" are unaccounted for and presumed captured.
No link yet. Updates as I get 'em.

-B.

Banshee, are we assuming "other Americans" to be civilians???

Yeah I've heard a radio report that the Pentagon says they were missing from a convoy caught up in the road battle outside Abu Gharib, but as yet I cannot find anything on the web even after a search for DoD briefings.

What a suprise that our strategy isnt working perfectly and we've run into some resistance that had a good plan of attack. It is a war isnt it?

There is this report by news24 that has a US coalition spokesman barely aknowledging the taking of additional hostages.

News24
"Senor could not confirm the reports about hostage-takings, saying that the coalition was just "aware of initial reports".

"We are seeking to confirm the reports, but regardless of whether or not the reports are accurate, our message to anybody who would take hostage of any foreign citizen or Iraqi is the same," he said."

Fox news is also now broadcasting report of missing soldiers and what they call civilian contractors.

[Edited on 9-4-2004 by Phoenix]

Originally posted by DontTreadOnMe
Banshee, are we assuming "other Americans" to be civilians???

Just got confirmation ....
2 American soldiers
"several" American contractors

So, yes. Civilians.

This and yesterday's captures are being considered a concerted effort on behalf of the insurgents.

-B.

Since the US has said that no negotiation will take place to free the hostages I guess we all can expect a happy easter present from the insurgents care of al-Jazzeera just in time for mondays news cycle.

hostage taking is supported in the KORAN. This why you see it all over middle eastern nations.

I feel sorry for those three Japanese who are not combatants. Isn't Japan meant to be a pacifist nation and why the HELL would they want to kiss upto the US after all the # the US put them through. Once again, repeat after me children: May the US burn and rott in hell!

Not only have American an Italian hostages been taken so have Japanese most of my friends are Japanese the Iraqis have said that if Japan doesnt pull out the hostages will be burned alive.

I watched this on the news 1hr ago. The car stopped and told
the reporter and cam' man to come and see their 'proof'.
The hostage had an American acc' and was dressed in civvy's.

www.abc.net.au...

S.

Oh, I love the media, read these two diff' views...

#1 The West www.abc.net.au...
#2 The Middle East www.islam-online.net...

They are short and relate to the "same incident"
re: being fired upon...
S.

[Edited on 10-4-2004 by sanctum]