Christian hostages called ‘spies’

BAGHDAD — Al Jazeera television yesterday aired a video of four aid workers kidnapped over the weekend, apparently being held by a previously unknown terrorist group called the “Swords of Righteousness.”

The four — two Canadians, an American and a Briton, members of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) — sat with their backs against a wall, and looked calm.

A taped statement by the terrorists accused the four of being “spies of the occupying forces.” Previous hostages charged with being spies have been beheaded or shot.

The abductions of the four, plus a German woman kidnapped on Friday, is driving up fears that insurgents are expanding their terror campaign to the civilian expatriate population in Iraq in the weeks leading up to the Dec. 15 national elections.

“There certainly have been messages, threats that have come out” as the country takes its next political steps forward, said a Western diplomat on the condition of anonymity. “There are many enemies of this who want to do anything that would destabilize what appears to be some forward movement toward some kind of democracy,” the diplomat said.

In addition, six Iranian pilgrims also were kidnapped, but two women in the group were released shortly afterward.

Christian Peacemaker Teams, an anti-violence group, confirmed yesterday that four of its human rights workers went missing in Baghdad on Saturday.

The footage showed Norman Kember, a retired British professor with a shock of white hair, sitting on the floor with three other men. The camera revealed the 74-year-old Mr. Kember’s passport.

Christian Peacemaker Teams identified the other hostages as Tom Fox, 54, of Clearbrook, Va.; James Loney, 41, of Toronto; and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, a Canadian electrical engineer, according to the Associated Press. Clearbrook is a suburb of Roanoke.

The CPT, based in the U.S. and Canada, blamed the occupation of Iraq by U.S. and British forces for the kidnappings, Agence France-Presse reported.

“We are angry because what has happened to our teammates is the result of the actions of the U.S. and UK governments due to the illegal attack on Iraq, and the continuing occupation and oppression of its people,” the group said.

The long-time CPT members had stated that they were “aware of the many risks both Iraqis and internationals currently face” in the nation, according to a message posted on the organization’s Web site.

The CPT also said it did “not advocate the use of violent force to save lives of its workers should they be kidnapped, held hostage or caught in the middle of a conflict situation.”

Germany’s ARD television and Iraqi Al Iraqiya television carried pictures of a blindfolded woman being held by someone with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Two other men had automatic rifles. One read a statement demanding that Germany stop dealing with the Iraqi government.

The German woman, Susan Osthoff, is an archeologist who had spent considerable time in Iraq and is a fluent Arabic speaker. Mrs. Osthoff’s mother, Ingrid Hala, told Germany N24 news station that her daughter is working for a German aid organization that has distributed medicine and medical supplies in Iraq since before the 2003 U.S. invasion. German television reported that Mrs. Osthoff has had no contact with her family in Germany for five years, including a daughter who is 11.

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