Eight Iraqis were killed in different attacks; Iraqi group kills Korean hostage
Iraq, Politics, 6/23/2004

One armed group in Iraq calling itself al-Tawhid and al-Jihad group executed its threat by killing a southern Korean citizen held as a hostage. The group gave Seoul government a period of 24 hours to withdraw its forces from Iraq and abstain from sending additional forces.

The Korean hostage Kim Son Eil ( 33 year old) had appeared in an orange color uniform, screaming with three men behind him one of them read a statement before the beheading of the Korean hostage addressed to the people of southern Korea.

The spokesman said that the group warned against not abiding by its demands. He added " stop lies and deception, your forces are here not for the sake of the Iraqis, rather for America." However, the foreign ministry of southern Korea confirmed the death of the hostage in Iraq and finding his body.

The killing of the hostage -- who was working in a trade company in Baghdad -- came after news indicated that the hostage is still in a good situation and that the kidnappers accepted the extension of the grace period and backtracked their demands on the need of the withdrawal of southern Korea forces from Iraq to release the hostage after the interference of mediators.

However, Seoul refused the requests of the kidnappers and stressed it will proceed sending 3,000 soldiers to Iraq in the coming time, but the kidnapping operation pushed the Korean authorities to declare its determination to evacuate 22 businessmen who are still in Iraq by the beginning on July.

Meantime, news reports in Baghdad quoted a source in the Iraqi police that three Iraqis were killed at least and one person was injured in a booby trapped car explosion in al-Amereyah area. The explosion took place in the people "work " street and four sedan cars were damaged.

Iraqi police sources said that the explosion took place when a procession for the Iraqi police and occupation forces was running, noting that Adnan al-Janabi, a guard for the Iraqi minister of state was among the killed persons in addition to a six year old child.

In Tikrit to the north of Baghdad, news reports said that a booby trapped car went off in Balad area targeting one occupation military vehicle. One American military spokesman confirmed that the explosion took place but did not define the resulting damages.

In al-Khaledeyah to the west of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, two persons were killed at least in an attack targeted a headquarters for the Iraqi ministry of agriculture and irrigation in the town. Witnesses expected more bodies to be under the remains of the building which was leveled to the ground.

In Baghdad, one Iraqi working as a translator for the occupation forces was murdered to the northern east of the capital by unidentified persons.

Also in al-Musil, unidentified persons assassinated the rector at the faculty of law Dr. Layla Abdullah Saeed and her husband on Monday evening by bullets. Her relatives said that she was killed after she was killed by bullets and she had received death threats.

These developments coincided with the occupation forces release of a new shift of Iraqi prisoners from Abu Ghreib prison that reached 55 prisoners. One day after the trial of three American military men under the charge of committing violations against detainees there.

Previous Stories:
  Turkish PM denies report   (6/21/2004)
  Al-Sader was invited to take part in the Iraqi national congress   (6/21/2004)
  Allawi assumes the security file and occupation forces promise to hand over Saddam   (6/21/2004)

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