Seven Hostages Released

The good news:

Seven truck drivers from Egypt, Kenya and India held by militants in Iraq since July 21 have been released, Dubai-based al-Arabiya TV reported Wednesday.

Three Kenyans, three Indians and an Egyptian appeared in interviews with the al-Arabiya channel, looking in good mood and healthy. The seven hostages were kidnapped on July 21 by a group calling itself "Holders of the Black Banners" affiliated to a group called "Secret Islamic Army".

The bad news:

A £280,000 ransom payment today gained freedom for seven truck drivers held hostage in Iraq since July.

The men arrived at KuwaitÂ’s international airport after their company paid Iraqi militants the cash to secure their release.

The freed hostages – three Kenyans, three Indians and an Egyptian – were hugged and presented with flowers by executives and employees of the company they worked for, Kuwait Gulf Link Transport.

KGL chief executive officer, Said Dashti, said the men were freed after a team of company employees drove under armed guard to an unspecified location in Iraq where the drivers were being held to pay the ransom.

“The kidnappers were not trying to make a political statement, they were purely extortionists,” Dashti said.

Dashti said the kidnappers’ initial demands included a £4 million ransom, the release of prisoners held in the US military prison in Guantanamo and compensation for victims of coalition attacks in the western Iraqi city of Fallujah.

But the kidnappers lowered their demands as their negotiations with tribal and religious leaders and parties close to the company continued, Dashti added.

Asked if he thought paying ransom money will encourage more kidnappings and terrorism, Dashti said: “Yes, but I had no other choice, the drivers are human beings and were trying to save their lives.”

Hat tip: (Somebody e-mailed me with this one this morning, if it was a fellow blogger drop me a line so I can link you. Sorry, rough day.)

Posted by: Rusty at 03:41 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 321 words, total size 2 kb.