| Page 2 of 2 < |
Iraqi Kidnappers Extend Deadline Two Days
In his statement, Kember appealed to British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
"I ask Mr. Blair, the British government and the British people to work both for my release and for the release of the Iraqi people from oppression," he said.
  Iraqi policeman Khalid Salih, 28, mourns a slain colleague outside the hospital in Kirkuk in northern Iraq Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2005. Gunmen killed three police officers early Wednesday when they burst into a hospital in the northern city of Kirkuk and freed a wounded man who had been arrested for plotting to kill a judge in the Saddam Hussein trial, police said. (AP Photo/Yahya Ahmed) (Yahya Ahmed - AP) |
A senior Iraqi official said Wednesday that "intelligence and security efforts" were under way to win the release of the Western hostages,
Maj. Gen. Hussein Ali Kamal, deputy interior minister for intelligence, said efforts were "aiming and hoping for the release of those people who came to Iraq to provide humanitarian services."
Religious and political leaders abroad _ including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder _ called for the hostages' release.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw called for the captives' release.
"These four men are all campaigners for peace, dedicated to the helping of others, and we ask for their release," he said in a statement. "The message of this latest statement is not clear. If the kidnappers want to get in touch, we want to hear what they have to say."
Jackson, who has been involved in negotiating freedom for hostages in Iraq, Syria and Cuba, told CNN that he was appealing for the peace activists' freedom.
"Those four men are not soldiers. They're not spies. They do not have guns," Jackson said. "They should not be used as trophies and killed in the process."
Jackson said he has not had any response to his efforts to make contact with the kidnappers.
"We are working through religious channels, and we hope that those channels will have an effect," he said.
Schroeder made an appeal on behalf of German hostage Susanne Osthoff and her Iraqi driver, who were seized last week.
"Susanne Osthoff has been selflessly and sacrificially engaged (in Iraq) out of love for the people of your country," the former chancellor said in a statement televised by Al-Jazeera.
"Through her actions, Susanne Osthoff has shown respect and sympathy for your country. Recognize this and show equal humanity and respect for her life _ set Susanne and her driver free," Schroeder said.
The seventh Western hostage seized recently was Bernard Planche, a French engineer. A spokesman for the French government said officials were working to free him.