The Hindu : Front Page : Iraqi militants extend deadline

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 27, 2004

Front Page

Front Page

Iraqi militants extend deadline

By Atul Aneja

MANAMA, JULY 26. The Iraqi kidnappers of a group of seven persons, including three Indian truck drivers, have deferred the deadline for executing them amid complex negotiations being held through multiple channels.

The negotiations have entered a new phase with the abductors appointing a tribal leader, Shaikh Hisham al-Dulaymi, as their mediator. The Al Jazeera television, citing a new video, said that militants belonging to the "Holders of the Black Banners" had extended the deadline in deference to a request by Mr. Al-Dulaymi. The video released on Monday showed a masked member of the group reading out a statement as two armed and masked men stood at his side, behind the kneeling hostages. "In response to a demand from Shaikh al-Dulaymi, the high command... has decided to extend the deadline to complete negotiations with the consenting parties," the statement said.

The group also warned "the Indian Government not to attack Muslim religious leaders."

Authoritative sources told The Hindu that the talks could be long-drawn, but a positive result was expected. The talks were meant to address the kidnappers' "real" demands about which the negotiators were now fully aware.

Delicate stage

The CNN quoted Egypt's Ambassador to Iraq, Karim Sharaf, as saying that the talks with the hostage-takers had reached a delicate stage. "We are dealing with a volatile group that is very sensitive and that is monitoring the media," he said.

Representative of the Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Company, which is conducting talks with the kidnappers to free its employees on a separate track, has welcomed the announcement by the militant group to extend its deadline. "The extension is in the interest of the negotiations," said Rana Abu-Zaineh, the transport company's Manpower Planning Manager.

More abductions

As the negotiations with the kidnappers continued, there was no let-up in the flurry of abductions that have rocked Iraq in recent weeks. Two Jordanian drivers have been taken captive, while another group claimed it had seized two Pakistanis and an Iraqi driver employed by a Kuwaiti firm. The Associated Press Television News said that it had obtained a tape on Monday, where the Jordanian company has been warned that its two drivers would be killed within 72 hours unless it stopped doing business with the U.S. military.

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