BAGHDAD, 9 April 2004 — Iraqi insurgents yesterday kidnapped Japanese, Korean and Arab civilians regarded as helping the occupation while US-led troops continued fierce battles with Sunni and Shiite rebels in a day of bloody chaos not seen since major hostilities were declared over a year ago.
A previously unknown Iraqi group said it was holding three Japanese hostages and threatened to “burn them alive” unless Tokyo withdrew its troops from Iraq within three days.
Rebels also seized two Arabs with Israeli identity cards, shown on a videotape aired by an Iranian television station, and accused them of spying. A Briton was missing after being kidnapped in the southern town of Nassiriyah. Seven South Korean missionaries were taken hostage near Baghdad by armed men but were later freed unharmed, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said.
The kidnapping of the three Japanese civilians — a male and a female aid worker and a male journalist — was a blow to Japan’s Iraq policy, which has divided public opinion and raised concern that its troops could be targeted by insurgents or drawn into the fighting.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda called the abductions “unforgivable,” but said they did not justify a Japanese withdrawal. In the videotape, the captives were shown blindfolded and crouching on the floor of a concrete walled room with an iron door. Standing behind them were four masked gunmen in black, holding automatic weapons and RPG launchers.
The gunmen made the Japanese lie on the floor, pointing swords and knives at their chests and throats. The woman wept and hid her eyes as a gunman tried to pull her hands away from her face and pressed a knife against her throat.
Tokyo has sent 530 troops to the southern city of Samawah, part of a planned deployment of 1,100 on a noncombat mission to help rebuild Iraq. According to Al-Jazeera, the Japanese were taken in southern Iraq by a group identifying itself as the “Mujahideen Squadrons.”
Meanwhile, Iraq’s interior minister, who leads police and security forces, resigned at the request of top US administrator L. Paul Bremer to maintain balance between Sunni and Shiite factions on the governing council. It was unclear if the resignation of Nuri Al-Badran was also connected with the failure of Iraqi police to confront insurgents.
Fighting this week in Fallujah, Ramadi and elsewhere has left at least 459 Iraqis and 36 Americans dead, including reportedly more than 280 Iraqis killed since the Marines’ siege against Sunni insurgents in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, began early Monday.
Gunmen mainly from the militia led by anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr have full control over the southern cities of Kut, Kufa and the central part of Najaf.
Police in those cities have abandoned their stations or stood aside as the gunmen roam the streets, prompting questions over a force US leaders are counting on to keep security in the future Iraq.
Iraqi security forces have been cooperating with US troops in the siege of Fallujah.
Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top US general in Iraq, said there appeared to be links “at the lowest levels” between the Shiite militia — which has been battling coalition forces in at least a half-dozen southern cities this week — and Sunni Arab insurgents who have long fought US troops in central Iraq. The insurgency has not taken hold in Basra, Iraq’s second-largest city, and residents of Amara and Nassiriyah, where fatal clashes took place Tuesday, said those towns were calm with police in the streets. Sanchez said coalition forces would retake Kut “imminently.”
He suggested the presence of hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims in Najaf for the Al-Arbaeen holy day this weekend was hampering coalition efforts to move against militiamen. “We are very cognizant of the religious ceremonies,” he said.
Bremer said Shiite pilgrims faced a threat of violence if they visit shrines in southern cities where militias have battled coalition forces for several days.
Polish and Bulgarian soldiers drove off Shiites who attacked them near the municipal hall in Karbala south of Baghdad during all-night battles, a Polish spokesman said.
Coalition forces suffered no casualties but killed nine attackers and wounded about 20 others, Lt. Col. Robert Strzelecki said.
In Fallujah, Marines fought insurgents for a second day. One Marine was reported killed, but the military released no details.
Lt. Col. Greg Olsen said Marines had “made inroads into the city and we are driving the enemy resistance back to a position of disadvantage.” “We’re winning every firefight,” Olsen said. Marines battled again around the Abdul Aziz Al-Samarrai Mosque, which Capt. James Edge said insurgents were again using as a base despite a six-hour battle Wednesday to uproot them.
— Additional input from agencies
