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
Monday, March 26, 2007
Forces hunt for German hostages
Security, Hostages
(Reuters) - U.S. soldiers hunting for a German woman and her son being held hostage by an Iraqi Islamist group raided houses in Baghdad on Sunday night but came up empty-handed. Reuters photographer Fabrizio Bensch who witnessed the raid said the troops had been acting on a tip-off. The little-known group, the Arrows of Righteousness, has threatened to kill the two hostages unless Germany withdraws its 3,000 troops from Afghanistan.
The German woman, Hannelore Marianne 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 pair were seized from their home in the western Baghdad district of Ghazaliya in early February. Earlier this month, the kidnappers released a video showing Krause weeping with her son and appealing to German Chancellor Angela Merkel to meet the kidnappers' demands.
The German government has said it is working to try to secure the hostages' release but will not be blackmailed. More than 200 foreigners and thousands of Iraqis have been kidnapped since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Most foreign hostages have been released but at least 60 have been reported killed by their captors.
Last year two German engineers were captured in Iraq and held for 99 days before they were freed. It is not clear if a ransom was paid. Before that, German archaeologist Susanne Osthoff was also held by an Islamist group.
The German woman, Hannelore Marianne 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 pair were seized from their home in the western Baghdad district of Ghazaliya in early February. Earlier this month, the kidnappers released a video showing Krause weeping with her son and appealing to German Chancellor Angela Merkel to meet the kidnappers' demands.
The German government has said it is working to try to secure the hostages' release but will not be blackmailed. More than 200 foreigners and thousands of Iraqis have been kidnapped since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Most foreign hostages have been released but at least 60 have been reported killed by their captors.
Last year two German engineers were captured in Iraq and held for 99 days before they were freed. It is not clear if a ransom was paid. Before that, German archaeologist Susanne Osthoff was also held by an Islamist group.
Labels: Arrows of Righteousness, Hannelore Krause
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Al-Hashimi appeals for release of German hostages
Security
(AP) - Iraq's Sunni vice president pleaded Tuesday for the kidnappers of two German citizens to release them "as a sign of goodwill." A previously unknown Iraqi insurgent group calling itself "Arrows of Righteousness" threatened in a video on March 10 to kill Hannelore Krause and her son, Sinan, unless Germany withdrew from Afghanistan within 10 days. The mother and son disappeared in Iraq on Feb 6.
The video showed the sobbing woman, sitting next to her grown son, appealing to the German government to respond to the kidnappers' demands. There has been no further word about the two. The video's authenticity could not independently verified, and German officials would not say where the two citizens were kidnapped nor what they were doing in Iraq.
"Our ethic and national responsibility needs to attract as much sympathy as we can from the world community to the ordeal now facing the Iraqi people," Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi said in a statement. "Kidnapping innocent people and holding them responsible for their countries' policies does not serve this noble goal," he said.
On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Berlin would not meet demands from Islamic extremists.
"The government cannot let itself be blackmailed," Merkel said at a news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The video showed the sobbing woman, sitting next to her grown son, appealing to the German government to respond to the kidnappers' demands. There has been no further word about the two. The video's authenticity could not independently verified, and German officials would not say where the two citizens were kidnapped nor what they were doing in Iraq.
"Our ethic and national responsibility needs to attract as much sympathy as we can from the world community to the ordeal now facing the Iraqi people," Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi said in a statement. "Kidnapping innocent people and holding them responsible for their countries' policies does not serve this noble goal," he said.
On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Berlin would not meet demands from Islamic extremists.
"The government cannot let itself be blackmailed," Merkel said at a news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Labels: Arrows of Righteousness, Germany, Hannelore Krause, hostages
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Iraqi kidnappers threaten to kill Germans if demands not meant
Security
(CNN) Iraqi militants holding a German woman and her son hostage demanded Saturday that Germany withdraw its troops from Afghanistan to ensure their safety. The little-known Arrows of Righteousness group posted video on the Internet on Saturday threatening to kill the two in 10 days if Berlin won't comply. CNN could not independently confirm the authenticity of the video. In it, a woman identified as Hannelore Marianne Krause urges German Chancellor Angela Merkel to heed the demands. A passport with that name is shown in the video. German officials did not confirm the kidnap victims' names or say why they were in Iraq.
"Crisis management officials are working on the case of the hostages" and are in contact with the appropriate government officials and with family members, according to the German Foreign Ministry. While sitting next to her son, Krause tells Merkel, "These people want to kill my son in front of my eyes, and then they'll kill me, if the German troops did not withdraw from Afghanistan." She and her adult son clutch each other and cry as they speak while three militants, two armed with large assault rifles, stand behind them. "They are not joking, and they'll kill us," Krause says. "I am very tired. Please help me. Make a decision or we will be killed."
As part of NATO's Afghanistan force, Germany has about 3,000 troops in the relatively peaceful northern part of the country. On Friday, Germany decided to send additional reconnaissance jets and personnel to the area.
German troops also help train Iraqi soldiers and police, but not in Iraq.
Krause also called on German citizens and government and nongovernmental organizations to help. The three masked men who are shown standing behind the two Germans are in civilian clothes, not the usual uniform worn by militants in Internet videos. Reading a prepared statement, one of the militants says: "We have warned you. Otherwise, you will not see their bodies. Muslims are all one nation, and have one religion. It is not acceptable that Germany leads the coalition troops in Afghanistan, and attacks the secured villages and claim it is not fighting in Iraq."
"Crisis management officials are working on the case of the hostages" and are in contact with the appropriate government officials and with family members, according to the German Foreign Ministry. While sitting next to her son, Krause tells Merkel, "These people want to kill my son in front of my eyes, and then they'll kill me, if the German troops did not withdraw from Afghanistan." She and her adult son clutch each other and cry as they speak while three militants, two armed with large assault rifles, stand behind them. "They are not joking, and they'll kill us," Krause says. "I am very tired. Please help me. Make a decision or we will be killed."
As part of NATO's Afghanistan force, Germany has about 3,000 troops in the relatively peaceful northern part of the country. On Friday, Germany decided to send additional reconnaissance jets and personnel to the area.
German troops also help train Iraqi soldiers and police, but not in Iraq.
Krause also called on German citizens and government and nongovernmental organizations to help. The three masked men who are shown standing behind the two Germans are in civilian clothes, not the usual uniform worn by militants in Internet videos. Reading a prepared statement, one of the militants says: "We have warned you. Otherwise, you will not see their bodies. Muslims are all one nation, and have one religion. It is not acceptable that Germany leads the coalition troops in Afghanistan, and attacks the secured villages and claim it is not fighting in Iraq."
SITE - http://siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications261007&Category=publications&Subcategory=0
Labels: Arrows of Righteousness, Germany, Hannelore Marianne Krause, hostages
