05 December 2005 Blog Home : December 2005 : Permalink
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A French water treatment engineer was seized from his home in Baghdad on Monday, an Iraqi police officer said, the third kidnapping of Westerners in Iraq in the past 10 days.
...
Blanche's kidnapping follows the abduction of German archaeologist and aid worker Susanne Osthoff on November 25 and that of four Christian peace activists -- two from Canada and one each from Britain and the United States -- the following day.
Thousands of civilians have been kidnapped in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, including over 200 foreigners. Insurgent groups holding them have often demanded foreign forces quit Iraq, sought ransoms, or both.
Many have been released, but around 50 have been executed -- some by beheading in front of cameras.
Bad news of course but nowhere is there any mention that some of those kidnapped get rescued. For example (and the reason why I consider this to be bias) there is this recent report from the US DoD:WASHINGTON,
Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, found two Iraqi civilians bound and gagged in the trunk of a white sedan. The two individuals, employed by an American contractor, claimed they had been taken hostage and were to be murdered.
By the way the latter comes as a result of a recommendation from Murdoc Online to link to the truly excellent DoD RSS feed(s).