US firm spread hostage video

2004-06-17 20:10

Berlin - Video images of a US engineer taken hostage in Saudi Arabia, possibly by the al-Qaeda network, could have been put on the internet via a US firm based in California, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Thursday.

The video was released on Tuesday and shows relatively high-quality film of hostage Paul Johnson, who kidnappers from a group called "al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula" have threatened to kill by Friday.

The origin of the video was traced to Silicon Valley Land Surveying Incorporated, a California land surveying and mapping company, said Spiegel online, the internet service for the respected German weekly.

The magazine said that according to its research the move was the first time al-Qaeda had "hijacked" a website to broadcast its propaganda.

The network usually spreads its message through Islamist sites but this time, Spiegel maintains, hackers created a special file at the company's web address at least an hour before global news agencies broke word of the video.

The magazine said that company chief Tim Redd had refused to comment.

In the video, the group had demanded that hundreds of Islamic militants being detained in Saudi Arabia be released within 72 hours.

The hostage, a 49-year-old aviation engineer, was shown blindfolded with a piece of white fabric and tape. He was wearing a red shirt torn in parts so a tattoo on his left shoulder was visible.

In a brief statement Johnson gave his identity, nationality and said he was working as an aviation engineer.

An armed man wearing a balaclava and a belt containing explosives then introduced himself as Abdel Aziz Al-Muqrin, leader of an "al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula" group.

He read a lengthy statement containing the threat to kill Johnson.

- AFP