US reporter has 72 hours

2006-01-18 13:21

Baghdad - Hostage American reporter Jill Carroll appeared in a silent 20-second video aired on Tuesday by al-Jazeera television, which said her abductors gave the United States 72 hours to free female prisoners in Iraq or she would be killed.

The tape showed the 28-year-old reporter sitting in front of a white background and speaking, but her voice could not be heard.

On the tape, Carroll was pale and appeared tired, and her long, straight, brown hair was parted in the middle and pulled back from her face.

An al-Jazeera producer said no militant group's name was attached to the message that was sent to the station with the silent tape on Tuesday.

'The Revenge Brigade'

However, a still photograph of Carroll from the videotape that later appeared on the al-Jazeera website carried a logo in the bottom right corner that read "The Revenge Brigade".

The group was not known from previous claims of responsibility of violence in Iraq.

Carroll was a freelance reporter for The Christian Science Monitor, and the newspaper released a statement from her family pleading with her captors to set her free.

The statement said: "Jill is an innocent journalist and we respectfully ask that you please show her mercy and allow her to return home to her mother, sister and family."

Kidnappers 'seize innocent person'

It said: "Jill is a friend and sister to many Iraqis and has been dedicated to bringing the truth of the Iraq war to the world. We appeal for the speedy and safe return of our beloved daughter and sister."

In its own statement appealing for Carroll's release, the newspaper said she arrived in Iraq in 2003 and began filing stories for the Monitor early last year.

The newspaper said the kidnappers "have seized an innocent person who is a great admirer of the Iraqi people.

"She is a professional journalist whose only goal has been to report truthfully about Iraq and to promote understanding.

"As an intelligent, dedicated, open-minded reporter, she has earned the respect of her Arab and Western peers."

Kidnappers urged to free journo

The state department responded to the videotape with a statement that US officials were doing everything possible to win Carroll's freedom.

Spokesperson Sean McCormack said: "We continue to make every effort we can, working with Iraqis and others, to see Miss Carroll is returned safe and sound."

In New York, the Committee to Protect Journalists, a non-profit group that champions journalist causes, urged the kidnappers to "recognise her status as a neutral observer by releasing her immediately and without harm".

Carroll was kidnapped on January 7 in one of Baghdad's most dangerous neighbourhoods. Gunmen ambushed her car and killed her translator shortly after she left the offices of a Sunni Arab politician, who failed to show up for the interview.

The US military raided a prominent Sunni mosque a day after Carroll was kidnapped, sparking a demonstration by hundreds of worshippers.

- AP