'Withdraw, or they die'

2004-04-08 14:43

Doha - A previously unknown group, calling itself the "Mujahedeen Brigades", threatened on Thursday to kill three Japanese nationals it said it had abducted unless Tokyo withdrew its troops from Iraq, in a videotape aired by the al-Jazeera satellite channel.

The Qatar-based television aired soundless video of the trio and their passports, adding that an accompanying statement had given Tokyo three days to meet its demands.

The three captives, one of whom was a woman, appeared blindfolded in parts of the video, while other shots clearly showed their faces and the rest of their bodies.

Close-up shots of the passports revealed their pictures, names and other details.

Earlier a senior MP from Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party told the Kyodo News Agency that he had been told by the government that three Japanese had been detained in Iraq.

- AFP