Replies

May 3, 2005

Note: The following text is an exact quote:
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Jeremy Reynalds
P O Box 27693
Alb., NM 87125-7693
Tel: (505) 400-7145
www.joyjunction.org

JAPANESE INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER APPARENTLY HOSTS AUSTRALIAN HOSTAGE VIDEO AND OTHERS

Wood as Seen on the Video

A videotape delivered by militants to news agencies, some of which is also available online at a Japanese Internet service provider of sorts, shows an Australian citizen who has been taken hostage in Iraq.

According to the Brisbane Courier-Mail (www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,15159982%255E953,00.html) – BCM – the man on the tape identifies himself as Douglas Wood.

This is the complete text of his statement.

"My name is Douglas Wood. I'm a 63-year-old. I'm an Australian, a US resident. My wife is an American. We have a house in Alamo, California.

"I came to Iraq almost a year ago, working with John Watkinson and we had many jobs with the American military.

"My captives (sic) are fiercely patriotic. They believe in a strong, united Iraq looking after its own destiny.

"President Bush, Prime Minister Howard, Governor Schwarzenegger, family, friends, please help take the American troops, the Australian troops, the British troops out of here and let Iraq look after itself.

"They are strong, they will be [able to] look after themselves against their neighbors.

"Please help me. I don't want to die."

Wood's wife, Pearl, told the Associated Press (http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/Iraq/2005/05/01/1021261-ap.html ) that the man on the tape was definitely her husband. She said he had worked in Iraq as an engineer for about a year and a half.

JAPANESE INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER APPARENTLY HOSTS AUSTRALIAN HOSTAGE VIDEO AND OTHERS

The apparent extract from Wood's speech available on the Japanese Internet site (www.isonly.net/~blue_cats/cgi-bin/upload/source/up0558.zip) started when Wood addressed President Bush.

There were a number of other videos also available on this site.

One, lasting almost four minutes, started with emergency vehicles racing toward black plumes of smoke. Flames were shown, with people appearing to panic and then fire hoses were seen being used on devastated vehicles. The scene depicted was chaotic. The video shifted to more sirens and then the injured were shown in a hospital receiving medical attention.

Another video, lasting just over five minutes, began with fire fighters spraying a burned building. Fatigue- wearing individuals were then shown. The video then cut to a shot of presumably a hooded insurgent wearing a bullet proof vest. Although he was speaking, there is no audio on the video at this point.

Following this, devastated vehicles were seen over audio of Islamic chanting. Viewers could next see what was presumably bloody ground, and a sandal sitting forlornly in the accompanying debris. More sirens were heard, and then viewers could see a blood- covered seat and a man receiving medical attention.

Another video on the site showed possible insurgents undergoing training in what could be Kashmir.

Most of the videos accessed began with an e-mail address, zubeiddah1417@hotmail.com (information at www.infovlad.net/?p=142) and were attributed to IMC Media (Islamic Media Center).

A request for comment to that e-mail address was answered with an automatically generated comment which read, "This message is larger than the current system limit or the recipient's mailbox is full."

Also available at the same site was a 50-page document in Arabic.

The Japanese Internet provider apparently hosting the site was www.isonly.net. An e-mailed request for comment to this organization was not immediately answered.

The site administrator listed is Junichi Kagawa. An e-mail to him requesting comment was not immediately responded to either.

WOOD'S ABDUCTION

Australia's Seven News reported (http://seven.com.au/news/nationalnews/78854 ) that Wood was possibly abducted from his apartment between 24 and 48 hours before the release of the video of him pleading for his life.

"But at this stage the information is very sketchy," Seven News reported Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.

Downer confirmed Wood's apartment was in Baghdad, but according to Seven News he would not confirm whether Wood had visited Fallujah to inspect a building project he was working on.

A task force of Australian negotiators is now in Iraq attempting to secure Wood's release.

Seven News reported that Downer said additional information is needed about the group behind Wood's abduction.

An extremist Muslim group calling itself the Shura Council of Mujahidin claimed responsibility for the abduction.

The BCM reported that the Shura Council of Mujahidin has been linked to a string of abductions of foreigners in Iraq in the past two years. Last year, group members abducted Turk Aytulla Gezmen but released him after he vowed to convert to Islam. Additional information is available on this group at www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,15157222-2,00.html.

Seven News reported that when asked if he believed Wood would survive his ordeal, Downer responded, "I'm determined. We'll obviously do everything we possibly can to save him and get him out alive ... We're making a very big effort to do that, and so are our friends and allies and so are the Iraqis and the information flow is really starting now."