Sadr militia claims hostages
2004-04-08 10:42
Baghdad - Firebrand Shi'ite cleric Moqtada Sadr's militia said on Thursday it was holding Spanish hostages and possibly an American whom they plan to swap for one of their Najaf-based leaders, Mustafa Yaacubi, who was arrested by coalition forces on Saturday.
"We hold coalition hostages, most of them Spaniards, and possibly a US soldier, whom we want to swap against Mustafa al-Yaacubi", said Amar al-Husseini, speaking for Sadr in Baghdad's Shiite bastion of Sadr City.
The US-led coalition was not immediately available for comment.
Yaacubi, like Sadr, is implicated in the murder of a rival pro-American cleric last year.
United States civil administrator Paul Bremer on Monday branded Sadr, as "outside the law".
On Wednesday, US Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt vowed to destroy his militia, the banned Mehdi Army.
"Our offensive operations will be deliberate, they will be precise, and they will be powerful and they will succeed," he pledged.
The Mehdi Army has been combating US-led coalition troops in fierce fighting that left dozens of Iraqis and coalition troops killed and hundreds wounded this week.
- AFP