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AP
Web Site Posting: 2 Italian Hostages Slain
1 hour, 37 minutes ago
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CAIRO, Egypt - An Internet statement purportedly by a group which claimed to have kidnapped two Italian aid workers in Iraq (news - web sites) said Wednesday it had killed the women. The Web site posting could not be immediately verified.
Also, the site used by the Islamic Jihad Organization has not been regularly used by Iraqi militants to relay their statements.
Italian state radio's correspondent in New York, covering Foreign Minister Franco Frattini at the U.N. General Assembly session, quoted ministry spokesman Michele Valensise saying there was no confirmation of the claim. Frattini had been in contact with the Italian embassy in Baghdad, state radio said early Thursday.
The Italian Foreign Ministry's Crisis Unit in Rome said it was trying to check out the authenticity of the claim.
Ten days ago, the Islamic Jihad group claimed to be holding the women and was on a different Web site.
The Italians, Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both 29, were seized from their Baghdad offices by armed militants on Sept. 7. They worked for "Un Ponte Per ..." ("A Bridge to ...") and were involved in school and water projects in Iraq.
"We in the Jihad Organization of Iraq declared that the verdict of God Almighty against the two Italian prisoners has been carried out, by slaughtering them," the statement said.
Eight Hostages Are Released in Iraq
3 minutes ago
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BAGHDAD, Iraq - Eight hostages have been released in Iraq (news - web sites). Two Italians and two Iraqi aid workers kidnapped this month were freed Tuesday after three weeks in captivity, Italy's prime minister said. And four Egyptian telecommunications workers kidnapped in Baghdad have been freed, their parent company said Tuesday.
Meanwhile on the Gaza Strip (news - web sites), an Israeli Arab who works as a producer for CNN was released Tuesday, a day after he was kidnapped at gunpoint, relatives and Palestinian police said.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told Parliament that the two Italians and two Iraqis were handed over to the Red Cross in Iraq. He said the Italians were expected to return in Italy soon, possibly Tuesday evening.
"Finally a moment of joy," Berlusconi said. "The two girls are well and will be able to return to their loved ones tonight."
Three of the kidnapped Egyptian technicians were freed Tuesday afternoon, Orascom said in a statement faxed to The Associated Press. Hours earlier, the company had confirmed another of the six Egyptians abducted last week had been freed.
"Orascom is continuing its intensive efforts to free the two remaining (Egyptian) hostages," the company statement said.
A company spokesman, asked if Orascom had paid a ransom for their freedom, said he could not comment on any details of the negotiations. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described them only as "hectic."
The Egyptian charge d'affaires in Baghdad, Farouq Mabrouk, told Associated Press Television News that the first hostage was freed Monday. Mabrouk said the kidnapping "was motivated by financial reasons."
The Orascom statement said nothing about ransom being paid.
Orascom identified the released hostages as Alaa Muqar, Tarek Abdel Latif, Medhat Rezeik and Amir Daoud Issa.
Berlusconi went before Parliament to give details of the release, thanking the intelligence agencies of neighboring countries, including Jordan, whose king was in Rome Tuesday.
Berlusconi's comments were reported just after the Arab television channel Al-Jazeera announced that the Italians, Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, had been freed. A Muslim leader from Italy met with a local Muslim association earlier Tuesday in Baghdad to press for their release, though it was not immediately known if there was a connection.
The two women — both 29-year-olds working on school and water projects for the aid agency "Un Ponte Per ..." ("A Bridge To...") — were kidnapped in Baghdad on Sept. 7. Two different groups claimed responsibilty for the abductions, demanding the withdrawal of Italian troops from the country or the release of Iraqi female prisoners.
The same two groups later put out Web statements saying the two Italians had been killed, but the Italian government cast doubt on the claims' authenticity.
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