BAGHDAD, 17 September 2004 — Gunmen kidnapped two Americans and a Briton yesterday in a brazen attack on a house in an upscale Baghdad neighborhood while the police said they found the male corpse of a Westerner in Samarra who had been dead for some time. The body was bloated, the police said.
As well as the two Americans and the Briton, four Europeans are known to have been taken hostage in the past few weeks — two male French journalists and two Italian female aid workers.
The three kidnapped yesterday were employed by Gulf Services Company, a Middle East-based construction firm, and were seized from a two-story house surrounded by a wall in the Al-Mansour neighborhood, said Col. Adnan Abdul-Rahman, an Interior Ministry official. It was not immediately clear whether they worked as security guards or were involved in reconstruction projects.
The US Embassy identified the two Americans as Jack Hensley and Eugene Armstrong, but did not release their ages or hometowns. “The US government is using all available means to locate them and the Iraqi government is fully assisting in the case,” the embassy said in a statement.
The British Foreign Office in London confirmed that a British citizen was also seized but did not identify him. “We are urgently seeking further information. Next of kin are being informed,” a spokesman said on customary condition of anonymity.
Col. Abdul-Rahman said no shots were fired. He quoted witnesses as saying the men were bundled into a van and driven off.
Neighbors described the men as young and said their house was poorly secured, with only one unarmed guard at the gate. One neighbor said the captives had received threats before.
The latest spate of kidnappings appears to have convinced the last handful of die-hard expats still living in private houses to rethink their security. “I have the feeling that guerrilla groups have combed the whole of Baghdad and know exactly where all the foreigners live,” said a French woman living in Baghdad.
Yesterday’s incident wiped out what reluctance she had left about moving in to a guarded hotel, which is where most foreign civilians in Baghdad live.
“We are going to have to reconsider our security arrangements,” said another Westerner, who also refused to have his name published. “This new modus operandi is a sign that the guerrilla groups have taken the time to study their targets and analyze their routines,” he said.
Militants yesterday posted video footage on the Internet purportedly showing the killing of three Arabic-speaking truckers, who were also shown warning others against working with US forces in Iraq. The footage showed them standing with their hands tied behind their backs.
“My name is Abbas Nouri... I advise truck drivers not to work with Americans or do such work,” a dark-skinned man with a moustache said in Arabic.
The hazy footage from the Army of Ansar Al-Sunna group later showed the three lying face down on the floor with sounds of gunshots in the background and smoke. The men’s Arabic accents suggested they could have been Iraqis, Kurds or Jordanians.
In northern Iraq, gunmen kidnapped a Syrian truck driver.
In Amman, the Foreign Ministry said Jordanian truck driver Turki Al-Breizat, kidnapped and threatened with death, was released yesterday.
“Breizat’s release was the fruit of intensive efforts carried out by the Foreign Ministry in coordination with our embassy in Baghdad, and the efforts of the noble residents and elders of Fallujah,” the spokesman added.
— Additional input from agencies
