German president urges release of Iraq hostages
Source: Reuters
BERLIN, March 14 (Reuters) - German President Horst Koehler called on Wednesday for the immediate release of a German woman and her grown-up son who have been held hostage in Iraq for five weeks and threatened with death. In a video message recorded during a visit by Koehler to Latin America, he appealed directly to the kidnappers, who said last week they would kill Hannelore Krause, 61 and her son Sinan in 10 days unless Berlin pulled its 3,000 soldiers out of Afghanistan. "There is no political goal that justifies the killing of innocent people," Koehler said in the message broadcast on Germany's ARD public television and the Arabic Al Jazeera satellite channel. "I appeal directly to you, the kidnappers. I call on you to release Mrs. Krause and her son immediately. Too much innocent blood has already been spilled in Iraq. Stop it now and return the hostages to their families." On Saturday the Arrows of Righteousness, a little-known Iraqi Islamist group, posted a video on a Web site used by militant groups, including al Qaeda, showing Krause, her son and two masked militants, one pointing a machine gun to their heads. Krause, wearing a blue headscarf, sat next to her bearded son who held her arm. Both were weeping as Krause appealed to German Chancellor Angela Merkel to meet the kidnappers' demands. German newspapers have said the woman, married to an Iraqi physician, and her son are either Germans living in Iraq permanently or Iraqis with German nationality. Germany has said the two had been missing since Feb. 6. More than 200 foreigners and thousands of Iraqis have been kidnapped since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, which Germany opposed. Most foreign hostages have been released but at least 60 have been reported killed by their captors. Another Iraqi militant group freed two German hostages abducted in 2006. German media said the government paid more than $10 million in ransom to secure the release of Rene Braueunlich and Thomas Nitzschke after 99 days in captivity.
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