Al-Qaeda kidnaps 5
2005-12-29 21:51
Cairo - Al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed on Thursday to have kidnapped five employees of the Sudanese embassy in Baghdad and threatened to kill them unless Sudan removes its diplomatic mission from Iraq.
The claim, posted on a website forum, where al-Qaeda in Iraqi frequently posted messages, could not be immediately confirmed. It included no photos of the five and didn't identify them.
The group set a Saturday deadline for Sudan to "announce clearly that it is cutting its relations" with the Iraqi government and "is closing its embassy in Baghdad as well as withdrawing all of its representatives".
The statement said: "Otherwise, this government will bear the responsibility of presenting their diplomats as sacrifices."
Al-Qaeda in Iraq had kidnapped and killed a string of Arab diplomats and embassy employees in a campaign to scare Arab governments from setting up full diplomatic missions in Iraq - a step that was seen as a sign of support for the new Iraqi government.
- AP