Two Australians kidnapped, two Asians, one Turkish was beheaded, Rome asks help to release its citizens

Italy intensified yesterday its efforts to release its kidnapped citizens in Iraq. From Kuwait, the Italian foreign minister Franco Frateini started a Gulf tour in order to help in releasing them, while Paris said that the two French hostages in Iraq are still alive.

Meantime, an organization calling itself al-Ahwal ( hardships) groups said in a statement pinned on the walls of Sameraa city to the north of Baghdad that it kidnapped to Australians and two Asians who were in a car on the highway between Baghdad and Musil. The group's statement, the military wing of the Iraqi secret Islamic Army said "one of our groups raided civilian cars affiliate to the American army on the highway between Baghdad and Musil, working for important figures." It added that after the attack " four persons were detained: two Australians and two from East Asian countries."

The statement gave a grace period for the "Australian non believers" of 24 hours to get out of Iraq and "their prime minister to announce Australia's withdrawal from Iraq if he has concern for his people." The spokesman for the Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer said that the government contacted its embassy on Baghdad and other sources in Iraq to make sure of the kidnapping allegations.

The Italian foreign minister Franco Frateini, appealed from Kuwait, from where he had started a Gulf tour to help in releasing the two Italian hostages in Iraq Simona Bari and Simona Torita, the Arab states to contribute to releasing the two hostages before the end of the 24 grace period announced by the kidnapping group. A period which expires today if Rome will not withdraw its forces from Iraq.

Frateini who was talking via a translator from the big mosque in Kuwaiti city said addressing his call to Kuwait and the Arab states "please help us to release them." Meanwhile, gunmen executed one Turkish hostages and put on the Internet a video tape showing men beheading him. The man said "My name is Durmous Momedrile. I am from Tarsous ( southern of Turkey) and I work as a truck driver. I brought building materials from Turkey for an American base near Tikrit." This was what the man said before three men laid him to the ground and beheaded him by a knife." This was shown on the website for al-Tawhid Wal al-Jihad group of the Jordanian Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi.