DUBAI (AFP) - A Japanese hostage held in Iraq died from wounds he received after opening fire on his captors who had not intended to kill him, the militant Sunni group which kidnapped him said in an Internet message.
Relatives and officials confirmed Saturday that a man shown in a video released by the Islamic militants in Iraq was missing Japanese security contractor Akihiko Saito, but could not verify the fighters' claim he was dead.
The Army of Ansar al-Sunna group posted on its website Saturday a video of what it said was the body of Saito, a 44-year-old former Japanese soldier taken hostage in Iraq about 20 days ago.
A four-minute video message on its Arabic website showed the man's back covered in blood and a picture of his passport.
The group, linked to the Al-Qaeda terror network, said Saito died as a result of injuries incurred during his capture in Iraq on May 8. It warned people against working with US troops.
Captured during an ambush on his convoy, Saito had fired a weapon at one of the mujahadeen fighters guarding him, "without hitting his target," the group said in a message on the website.
"The brother (mujahadeen) responded, firing several shots, wounding him but not killing him," the message continued.
After being moved "to a safe place" upon the arrival of US troops at the ambush site, Saito "was found dead following haemorrhaging," the group said.
"As god is a witness, we had intended to look after him and keep him alive to show the world an example of Japanese soldiers operating in Iraq while claiming to serve friendly forces," the group said in its statement, signed by the "military committee" and dated Saturday.
The statement did not explain why it had taken three weeks to announce the death of the hostage.
In Tokyo the Japanese government said while it had "no choice" but to believe that the man in the video was Saito, it could not confirm he was dead.
After watching the video, a younger brother of Saito also confirmed that the man shown in it was the former paratrooper and French legionnaire, who had been missing since a convoy he was accompanying was ambushed on May 8.
"I have confirmed it was my brother by watching the video on my personal computer. I have conveyed this to the police and the foreign ministry," Saito's brother Hironobu, 34, said.
"The image was so cruel that I didn't want to show it to my father and another brother."
Saito had been employed by the British private security firm Hart to assist US-led military operations in Iraq. He joined the firm last December after serving for 21 years in the French Foreign Legion following two years in the Japanese ground force with an elite paratroopers unit.
He was not linked to the 600 Japanese troops who are on a reconstruction mission in southern Iraq in the first deployment since World War II of Japanese forces to a country at war.
Five Japanese, including two diplomats and two freelance journalists, have been killed in Iraq since the US-led war launched in March 2003. Five others were kidnapped but later released.
Iraq's deputy minister for internal security Abdel Karim al-Anzi condemned Saito's "murder" but stressed that relations with Tokyo would weather the act.
"We condemn this assassination and this criminal act will not affect Iraqi-Japanese diplomatic relations," he said in a statement on Saturday.
He said "efforts had been made to free him (Saito) but his murder took place before they produced results."
(AFP)
29 May 2005
BEIRUT - Lebanon’s first general elections free of Syrian presence in three decades kick off in Beirut on Sunday, with the anti-Damascus opposition set to win a majority of seats in the new parliament.
Nineteen seats are in theory up for grabs in the capital, but nine candidates on the lists of the murdered ex-premier Rafiq Hariri’s son Saad have already been elected by default after rival candidates failed to appear or dropped out.
Saad’s lists are widely expected to win all 10 other seats in Beirut and experts believe that this situation will keep turnout in Beirut lower than in the last legislative elections in 2000, which stood at 33.8 percent.
The vote marks only the start of four-stage nationwide polls, which will see different regions voting on every Sunday until the end of June.
Despite the crucial importance of the polls, being held under international supervision for the first time, there has been little sign of an intense battle as many of Syria’s once-powerful allies have thrown in the towel and the opposition is widely expected to win the lion’s share of seats in parliament.
But that victory may be dented by cracks emerging between opposition forces that had gained a powerful new voice after Hariri’s assassination.
Throughout the country, a total of 17 candidates have been automatically elected by default, including prominent opposition leader Druze MP Walid Jumblatt and close ally MP Marwan Hamadeh who has accused the Lebanese-Syrian security services of an attempt against his life in October.
The four-stage polls are the first since Syria last month ended its 29-year military presence in Lebanon, which began in the early days of the country’s 1975-1990 civil war.
The pullout came after massive protests and international pressure triggered by the killing of ex-premier Hariri—credited for Lebanon’s post-war rebuilding—which was widely blamed on the Lebanese regime and political masters in Damascus.
Damascus was the key powerbroker both on the ground in Lebanon and in the corridors of power, a role which ensured the pro-Syrian camp triumphed in the three legislative elections held since the 15-year conflict ended.
Lebanon has some three million voters, 59 percent Muslim and 41 percent Christian, who will be contesting 128 parliamentary seats to be shared equally by the Christian and Muslim communities.
Parliament is elected for four years.
About 420,630 voters, who must be aged over 21, can make their choice in 780 polling stations in the capital’s three constituencies where booths will open from 7:00 am (0400 GMT) until 6:00 pm (1500 GMT).
May29, 2005
Adventurer Susan Meckley (ussvdharma.net), a 72-year-old grandmother, is currently on a solo expedition aboard her sailing vessel USSV Dharma.
At last report she was nearing Hilo, Hawaii.
Amazingly, Art Bell was able to make radio contact with Susan (W7KFI/MM), who was using only a 40-watt Ham Radio. Click here to listen to their conversation.