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
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."
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Labels: Arrows of Righteousness, Germany, Hannelore Marianne Krause, hostages
