November 18, 2007

British Hostages to Be Free Soon?

Conflicting reports on the status of five British citizens kidnapped in Baghdad in May. A video of the five men was released to British authorities Sunday and showed the captives to "psychologically and emotionally tired" but otherwise well-treated.

The Sunday Times reports that the men could be "held for years" pending negotiations over the release of imprisoned terrorist spokesman Qais al-Khazaali, who helped mastermind the Karbala raid in which five American soldiers were murdered:

Senior Baghdad government sources said at least three negotiating sessions had taken place in the past few weeks between the kidnappers’ intermediaries and British, US and Iraqi officials.

The demand for Khazaali’s release is believed to have been high on the agenda, but the talks reached an impasse. “The kidnappers apparently came to the conclusion that the British position was weak and that they [the British] were unable to resolve this alone - that everything they sought was tied to the USA.”

The Americans refused to free Khazaali, the sources added.

The Telegraph, on the other hand, claims that the hostages could be "freed within days":

Five British hostages who have been held in captivity in Baghdad since May could be freed within days, an Anglican church mediator has claimed.

Canon Andrew White, the Vicar of Baghdad, said that attempts to negotiate with the captors through intermediaries linked to a Shia Muslim political faction were showing signs of progress. The talks had already produced evidence that the men were still alive.

“We just need another week of quiet,” Cannon White said from his home in Baghdad. “We’re engaged with the right people at a very high level and have had 'proof of life’ linked to the talks.”

The Telegraph article also links the hostage-taking to the capture of Khazzali, but hints at behind-the-scenes efforts to break the impasse. This strikes me as wishful thinking, however, as the US would be crazy to release Khazzali:

US officials said that the military was very unlikely to release a figure with direct links to the murders of its servicemen.

An American officer serving in Baghdad said: “He’s one of the biggest figures we’ve captured this year and that’s saying a lot because there have been so many of them caught.”

Critics of the Foreign Office decision not to publicise the plight of the men have pointed to the success of a worldwide campaign to free the BBC reporter Alan Johnston, who was seized in Gaza and held for nearly four months.

But unlike Mr Johnston’s kidnappers, the captors of the five men in Iraq have not release any information about the hostages on the internet.

Prayers for these hostages and their families, but also for the US authorities who are being pressured to swap a monster for innocent lives. Pray that the hostages will be freed without the burden of knowing that they were exchanged for a murderous terrorist who would only return to plot more death and destruction. Then they will be free indeed.

H/t George

UPDATE by Rusty: Bill Roggio has more on the Iran connection here.