TV presenter found dead
2005-02-26 13:57
Mosul - A female Iraqi television presenter kidnapped in the northern city of Mosul last week was found dead, her husband said on Saturday.
Raiedah Mohammed Wageh Wazan was abducted on February 20 by several masked gunmen. Her corpse was found on Friday, said her husband, Salim Saad-Allah. She had been shot in the head.
Wazan was working for local state TV in Mosul. It was unclear what prompted the kidnapping, but her TV station was attacked last week with mortar rounds that wounded three technicians.
An Arabic-language Internet bulletin board recently carried a statement from al-Qaeda's Iraq affiliate claiming responsibility for the mortar strike, but there was no way to verify the veracity of the claim.
The US military says insurgents have contacted the station and threatened employees there.
Saad-Allah said there would be no funeral procession for Wazan because he'd received threats not to hold one. He gave no details.
This week, the station aired extensive interviews with alleged insurgents - including Syrians, Lebanese, Egyptians, Sudanese and Iraqis - that security forces captured in Mosul.
- AP