“About Thirty People from Korea, Japan and the U.S. are Detained”

Al Arabya reported on April 10 that an armed group called ‘the Martyr Sheikh Yasin Brigade’ of Iraq is holding about thirty people from Korea, Japan and the U.S. as hostages and warned it would kill them unless the U.S. troops lifts a blockade on Paluja.

But three Japanese kidnapped by the Saraya al-Mujahedin seem to be released soon upon Muslim clerics’ advice.

The Yasin Brigade acting in Ramadi, west from Bagdad issued a statement and threatened “We will drag the hostages’ body after cutting their head off and amputating unless the U.S. army lifts its blockade” while saying “We hold about thirty citizens from Korea, Japan, Bulgaria, the U.S., Israel, Spain, Italy and so on as our hostages.”

This group, which seems to name after the leader of an Armed group Hamas Ahmad Yasin of Palestine who was killed by the Israeli army on March 22, has not been known till now.

Just after an on-the-spot broadcast, Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Korean Embassy in Iraq began working on fact finding, but their claim is not proved yet.

An official of the Embassy said on April 11 that “We are searching for the whereabouts on the base of visitor’s list we’ve secured and asked information to the U.S. authorities meanwhile.”

The concerned nations such as Spain announced that they have no information on the missing people, and the AP reported that there is no evidence to support their claim as well.

However, a German national broadcasting ZDF reported on 10 that two members of anti-terror corps GSG-9, who were dispatched for guarding the German Embassy in Bagdad, were missing.

As such abduction of foreigners by Iraqi resisting groups is spreading, more and more foreigners including Korean residents continue to escape from Iraq.

19 staffs of the NKTS, a national private guarding business plan to leave on 13, and 9 members of the Korean Christianity United Missionary Groups including seven reverends who were freed after detained by one of those group do so on 15. Now about 130 Koreans are known to stay in Iraq.

Even foreign correspondents as well as businessmen from Japan and the U.S. are withdrawing.

Young-Sik Kim spear@donga.com