Al-Qaeda threatens Iraq ministers' families

The Islamic State of
Iraq, as the terror network's affiliate is known, demanded in a message posted
Tuesday on militant websites that Abu Ayyub Al-Masri's family be released.
It
purports that the wife and children have been in custody since the joint
US-Iraqi air and ground assault near Saddam Hussein's hometown Tikrit in April
that killed Al-Masri. Authorities have reported their detention but there has
been no word on their whereabouts since.
Al-Qaeda says that unless Al-Masri's
family is freed, it will kidnap "wives, daughters and sons" of Iraqi
politicians and ministers.