Alias:
Posted on 11/19/2007 3:32:27 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo
Five Western security contractors kidnapped a year ago in Iraq are still alive, their employer said Monday, stressing that authorities are exerting all efforts to secure their release.
The four Americans and an Austrian colleague employed by Kuwait-based Crescent Security Group were among 14 people kidnapped Nov. 16, 2006, by men in Iraqi police uniforms who ambushed a convoy they were escorting near the southern Iraqi border city of Safwan.
Crescent managing partner Franco Picco said the company has been working with the FBI to find the men. They are alive and "we do have an idea where they are."
The families of some of the men have complained in the past that the U.S. government has keep them in the dark about efforts to free the men.
The search has been difficult, but "we'll get the guys back," Picco said in a telephone call from Kuwait.
The families of some of the men held prayer services or benefits over the weekend to mark the first anniversary of their disappearances. Some said they were concerned the U.S. government had been too quiet about its efforts to free them.
The missing contractors are Paul Reuben, a former St. Louis Park, Minn., police officer; John Young of Kansas City; Jon Cote of Buffalo, N.Y.; Josh Munns of Redding, Calif.; and Bert Nussbaumer of Austria.
The last indication that the men were alive came in January, in a video recording showing all five speaking briefly and saying they were being treated well. Since then, State Department officials have indicated they believe the men are still alive, according to some family members.
At the height of Iraq's sectarian battle, between 2004 and 2006, several Westerners were taken hostage - most by Sunni Muslim insurgents, including al-Qaida in Iraq.
While some were killed and their deaths captured on videos posted on the Internet, others were freed.
Hundreds of Iraqis have also been kidnapped since Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003. The motives behind those abductions have ranged from revenge, to politics and ransom.
On Saturday, a State Department said efforts to free the Crescent Security contractors were continuing, but department spokesman Kurtis Cooper would provide no further information.
Ping.....
Minnesota ping....
Where is the subject of my 3 year old tag line?
I wish I knew, FRiend, I really wish I knew.....
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6 posts, not bad.
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