Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Iraqi insurgent group threaten to kill German hostage
Security
(AP) -- An insurgent group in Iraq posted a videotape Monday that showed a German hostage who has been held for more than six months and threatened to kill him unless Germany withdrew its troops from Afghanistan within 10 days. Sinan Krause and his mother Hannelore disappeared in Iraq on Feb. 6. German officials have not said what they were doing in Iraq. The mother was freed in July.
The video showed Sinan Krause seated drinking tea in front of a blue backdrop and talking with his mother, who was weeping. As the image shifted to Hannelore sitting alone dressed in her headscarf, a voice was heard saying she was released because she converted to Islam. The narrator then demanded that Germany withdraw its forces from Afghanistan within 10 days or "we will slaughter him (Sinan) like a sheep to please ourselves and in support of our brothers and a humiliation to our enemies."
A previously unknown insurgent group, the "Arrows of Righteousness," claimed March 10 to have abducted Sinan and his mother and released two earlier videos of the two. The authenticity of Monday's almost three minute-long video could not be verified, but it appeared on a Web site commonly used by Islamic militants and carried the logo of the group.
In both previous videos - released in March and April - the group also threatened to kill the hostages if Germany did not start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan within 10 days. In one video, the mother said she worked for the Austrian Embassy, and a militant's voiceover said her son worked for Iraq's Foreign Ministry.
Germany, which opposed the war in Iraq and has no troops there, has some 3,000 soldiers serving in NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan - largely in the relatively calm north - and has said it will not comply with the kidnappers' demands.
The video showed Sinan Krause seated drinking tea in front of a blue backdrop and talking with his mother, who was weeping. As the image shifted to Hannelore sitting alone dressed in her headscarf, a voice was heard saying she was released because she converted to Islam. The narrator then demanded that Germany withdraw its forces from Afghanistan within 10 days or "we will slaughter him (Sinan) like a sheep to please ourselves and in support of our brothers and a humiliation to our enemies."
A previously unknown insurgent group, the "Arrows of Righteousness," claimed March 10 to have abducted Sinan and his mother and released two earlier videos of the two. The authenticity of Monday's almost three minute-long video could not be verified, but it appeared on a Web site commonly used by Islamic militants and carried the logo of the group.
In both previous videos - released in March and April - the group also threatened to kill the hostages if Germany did not start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan within 10 days. In one video, the mother said she worked for the Austrian Embassy, and a militant's voiceover said her son worked for Iraq's Foreign Ministry.
Germany, which opposed the war in Iraq and has no troops there, has some 3,000 soldiers serving in NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan - largely in the relatively calm north - and has said it will not comply with the kidnappers' demands.
Labels: Afghanistan, Arrows of Righteousness, Germany, Hannelore Krause, hostage, Iraq, Sinan Krause
Friday, July 13, 2007
German hostage released after five months
Security
(RFE/RL) - Hannelore Marianne Krause, a 61-year-old German woman held hostage for more than five months in Iraq, was released on July 10, international media reported on July 11. Krause said her son is still being held hostage, and pleaded with the German government meet the demands of her son's captors. "I ask Germany to pull its troops out of Afghanistan. If it fails to do so, then my son will be slaughtered," Krause said in an interview with Al-Arabiyah satellite television on July 11.
Krause and her son, Sinan, were abducted on February 6 by an armed group calling itself the Arrows of Righteousness. The group released a video of Krause and her son on April 4 and indicated that the two were abducted partly because she worked for the Austrian Embassy in Baghdad. The group contends that Austria is "hostile to Islam and Muslims" and its forces kill children in Afghanistan.
Labels: Afghanistan, Arrows of Righteousness, Germany, Hannelore Marianne Krause, hostage
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Germany given 10-day deadline to withdraw from Afghanistan by abductors
Security
(Reuters) - Iraqi militants holding a German woman and her son hostage said on Tuesday they were giving Germany a new deadline of 10 days to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan or the two would be killed. The Arrows of Righteousness group posted a video on the Internet showing Hannelore Marianne Krause urging Germans to press their government to heed the demands of the militants. She broke down in tears at one stage.
The group had issued an earlier ultimatum on March 10 that it would kill the pair if Berlin failed to pull out its troops from Afghanistan. The two were seized from their home in western Baghdad in early February. "I urge the German people to help me in my difficult situation," said Krause, according to an Arabic translation of her comments, only parts of which could be heard.
"Germany was safe before it got involved in this satanic coalition with America against what they call terrorism," said Krause, shown sitting on the ground next to her son. "Maybe for the last time ... I urge you. Perhaps you can go to the newspapers, perhaps you can organize a protest march ... contact people who can help you, please please, please," she said, addressing a son and daughter living in Germany.
A militant speaking on the video but out of sight said: "We are giving the German government another 10 days to begin withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan or we shall kill this criminal woman and her son who works in the Foreign Ministry of the government of (Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-) Maliki."
The group had issued an earlier ultimatum on March 10 that it would kill the pair if Berlin failed to pull out its troops from Afghanistan. The two were seized from their home in western Baghdad in early February. "I urge the German people to help me in my difficult situation," said Krause, according to an Arabic translation of her comments, only parts of which could be heard.
"Germany was safe before it got involved in this satanic coalition with America against what they call terrorism," said Krause, shown sitting on the ground next to her son. "Maybe for the last time ... I urge you. Perhaps you can go to the newspapers, perhaps you can organize a protest march ... contact people who can help you, please please, please," she said, addressing a son and daughter living in Germany.
A militant speaking on the video but out of sight said: "We are giving the German government another 10 days to begin withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan or we shall kill this criminal woman and her son who works in the Foreign Ministry of the government of (Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-) Maliki."
The militant said the woman was targeted partly because she worked at the Austrian embassy in Baghdad. "Austria is a government hostile to Islam and Muslims and it also has troops to kill our children in Afghanistan," he said. Krause said: "I also urge Austria to stand by me as I have worked many years at the (Austrian) commercial section ... Austria also has troops in Afghanistan and now I am going to be killed for that. I urge you to please help me."
Germany, which opposed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, has about 3,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of a NATO force stationed in the country after U.S.-led troops toppled the Taliban in 2001 for harboring al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Austria said last month it had five officers in Afghanistan and was not planning to send more troops. Krause is married to an Iraqi physician and moved to Iraq 40 years ago. Her son is reported to be in his mid-20s and has dual German-Iraqi citizenship. The German government has said it is working to try to secure the hostages' release but will not be blackmailed.
Germany, which opposed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, has about 3,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of a NATO force stationed in the country after U.S.-led troops toppled the Taliban in 2001 for harboring al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Austria said last month it had five officers in Afghanistan and was not planning to send more troops. Krause is married to an Iraqi physician and moved to Iraq 40 years ago. Her son is reported to be in his mid-20s and has dual German-Iraqi citizenship. The German government has said it is working to try to secure the hostages' release but will not be blackmailed.
Labels: Afghanistan, Arrows of Righteousness, Austria, Germany, Hannelore Krause, hostages
