Posted on 04/14/2004 6:12:59 PM PDT by Eurotwit
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi vowed on Thursday to keep troops in Iraq (news - web sites) despite the killing of an Italian hostage in scenes Al Jazeera said were too bloody to screen.
"They have destroyed a life. They have not cracked our values and our efforts for peace," Berlusconi said in a statement after the killing of security guard Fabrizio Quattrocchi.
The killing by a previously unheard of Iraqi group followed a spate of kidnappings that has snared foreign civilians from at least a dozen countries this month, Iraq's bloodiest period since Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) was ousted a year ago.
It was the first time in the wave of kidnappings that a group had openly publicized a hostage killing.
Al Jazeera said the kidnappers were threatening to kill three other Italian hostages, who like Quattrocchi worked for a U.S. private security firm, if Italy did not bow to their demand to withdraw its troops from the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.
"We have the footage but we won't air it as it is too bloody," said an official for the Arabic TV station. Italy's ambassador in Qatar identified Quattrocchi in the footage.
Italy said earlier it would not give in to "blackmail" to save the hostages but was working with Iran and others for their release. Berlusconi's office said after news of the killing that the prime minister was sending a senior official to Iraq immediately to try and save the lives of the remaining hostages.
Berlusconi sent almost 3,000 troops to Iraq and has been a staunch supporter of President Bush (news - web sites), but there have been signs of nervousness among other U.S. allies amid the hostage-taking and violence sweeping Iraq.
JAPAN PROBES REPORTS OF MORE HOSTAGES
Kidnappers freed a French journalist on Wednesday, but more than a dozen foreigners remained captive. Japan, which also has troops in Iraq, said it was investigating reports two more Japanese had been taken hostage, in addition to three last week.
The U.S. military, embroiled in a two-front battle against radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's militia and Sunni guerrillas, announced eight more American soldiers had died in combat, bringing to 93 the number killed in action in April.
This is four more than the number of U.S. troops who died in action in the three-week war that toppled Saddam last year.
An envoy for Sadr said a deal could be imminent with U.S.-led authorities, who have vowed to kill or capture the rebel leader.
Sadr, who launched an anti-U.S. uprising this month and is now holed up in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, was reported earlier to have offered unconditional talks to spare Najaf a bloodbath as U.S. forces tightened their grip around it.
"I expect a solution within the next 24 hours. I met U.S. officials today and the talks were extremely positive," said Abdelkarim al-Anzi, appointed by Sadr to lead negotiations.
No comment was available from U.S.-led authorities.
U.S. troops said earlier they had not seen any sign of Sadr's forces backing down.
"The indication I'm getting is that they are not retreating," said Colonel Dana Pittard, commander of the 3rd Brigade Task Force poised outside Najaf.
IRAN SAYS INVOLVED IN IRAQ MEDIATION
Mainly Shi'ite Iran said its arch-foe the United States had asked it to help calm the Iraq crisis. A Shi'ite political source said an official Iranian delegation had flown to Baghdad to mediate.
Sadr's revolt among Iraq's majority and previously largely peaceful Shi'ites erupted this month after U.S.-led authorities closed his newspaper, said he was wanted for murder and detained his top aide.
It coincided with a U.S. crackdown in Falluja, a city west of Baghdad where doctors say more than 600 people have been killed.
More clashes erupted between Sunni guerrillas and U.S. Marines in Falluja, but Iraqi mediators said they had extended a much-violated truce for 48 hours.
Witnesses said a U.S. air strike hit an area of the city and four civilians and two fighters were killed in fighting.
In Baghdad, U.S. soldiers fired on looters raiding a military truck on the airport road, killing or wounding several. The bloody chaos in Iraq has shown how hard Washington is finding the task of stabilizing the country it invaded to destroy Saddam's still unfound weapons of mass destruction.
Bush, seeking re-election in November with opponents accusing him of leading the United States into a Vietnam-style quagmire, vowed on Tuesday to stay the course in Iraq and stick to a June 30 handover of power to Iraqis.
Taking advantage of a huge troop rotation program to beef up force levels in Iraq, the U.S. military planned to keep more than 20,000 troops beyond their year-long tours of duty, U.S. defense officials said.
One senior official said the number of U.S. troops in Iraq was now likely to remain at more than 130,000 for another three months, instead of a previously planned reduction to 110,000.
"There has been a decision that seasoned troops are needed as we move toward and through the turnover of power to the interim Iraqi government," another official said.
The contact page has a few email addresses on it, but the only one that looks like it might be appropriate is the one for general comments and suggestions. That email address is affariconsolari@itwash.org
We stand with you.
God bless you for your words sir, and we stand by you for the price your countryman has paid in the cause of freedom.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.