- The Bulgarian government confirmed that one of two Bulgarian
nationals being held hostage in Iraq has been executed.
-
- "We have confirmation that (the killing) involves
one of the two Bulgarian hostages. We do not yet have information about
which one of the two it is," government spokesman Dimitar Tsonev said.
-
- "All Bulgarian institutions have done everything
possible. Now all we can do for the next 24 hours is to pray for the life
of the second Bulgarian hostage," he said.
-
- Truck drivers Ivailo Kepov et Georgy Lazov were taken
hostage near the northern Iraqi town of Mosul last Thursday and threatened
with execution unless US troops freed Iraqi prisoners within 24 hours.
-
- Al-Jazeera satellite television said it had received
a video of the beheading of one of the two men.
-
- The group threatened to kill the other Bulgarian hostage
unless its demand was met for the release within 24 hours of Iraqi prisoners
detained by the US military in Iraq, Al-Jazeera said.
-
- The tape was purportedly made by the Tahid wal Jihad
group (Unity and Holy War) of suspected al-Qaeda operative Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi,
who is accused of organising dozens of deadly attacks in Iraq.
-
- In what was believed to be footage of the Bulgarians,
Al-Jazeera television last week showed the two squatting and handcuffed
held by masked men of Tahid wal Jihad.
-
- The government spokesman in Sofia called efforts to negotiate
the men's release "very uneven".
-
- "The over effort to make their rescue possible has
been very uneven", he said.
-
- Bulgaria supported the US-led war in Iraq and has 470
soldiers deployed there as part of what is now a multinational military
coalition under US command.
-
- It vowed not to bow to "blackmail" and since
the initial deadline for its hostages expired on Friday, despite widespread
national anxiety about the fate of the two men.
-
- © 2004 AFP Copyright © 2004. The Age Company
Ltd. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/14/1089694385848.html?oneclick=true
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