Free Republic

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The fate of the four Westerners held hostage is Iraq is still unknown. Today marks the deadline set by the hostage takers to kill the men, who were kidnapped two weeks ago. The hostages include two Canadians, an American and a British citizen. Iraqi authorities say they haven't had any contact with the group known as the Swords of Righteousness Brigade. The hostage takers want U.S. and Iraqi authorities to release all prisoners being held in Iraq. A television station in Iraq says about 240 detainees held by multinational forces have been released today. But such...

As we noted Saturday, Japanese hostage Shosei Koda was beheaded by the Al Qaeda-associated terrorist group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.The monsters have now released stills and video of the beheading.Al Qaeda Organization of Holy War in Iraq said Tokyo had offered a ransom of "millions of dollars" for 24-year-old Koda. It warned Japan to withdraw its forces from Iraq or "drown in the hell of the mujahideen" along with "crusader forces."Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima denied the ransom claim. "It's just groundless. We have not done that," he said, denouncing the video posting as "disgusting." ...The video showed...