The Hindu : Front Page : 12 Nepalese hostages killed in Iraq

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 01, 2004

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12 Nepalese hostages killed in Iraq

By Atul Aneja

MANAMA, AUG. 31. An Iraqi militant group today claimed responsibility for killing 12 kidnapped Nepalese, shifting the focus back to a spate of abductions in Iraq that include three Indians working for a Kuwaiti transport company as well as two prominent French journalists.

In a videotape posted on an Islamic website, a masked man was shown slitting the throat of a blindfolded man lying on the ground, the Associated Press reported. The tape also showed an armed man firing single shots from an assault rifle at the back of the heads of 11 others. Other pictures showed all 12 beheaded. The authenticity of the tape has so far not been verified. The Nepalese Cabinet held an emergency session to discuss the reported executions.

Shortly afterwards, Nepal's ambassador to Qatar, Shyamanand Suman, was reported to have told the Nepalese media over telephone that, "it is a matter of great sorrow that they have killed the innocent Nepalese in an inhuman manner." "I am going to the Al-Jazeera television station to find out more details," he said.

The ambassador said the militants had "murdered" the 12 Nepalese without setting any deadline or offering to talk, and that he himself came to know about the murder from television.

Vows to fight U.S.

The militant group, Jaish Ansar al-Sunna, which had carried out the abductions 10 days ago, said in a statement that, "We have carried out the sentence of God against 12 Nepalese who came from their country to fight the Muslims and to serve the Jews and the Christians ... believing in Buddha as their God." The statement vowed to continue fighting the Americans. "America today has used all its force, as well as the help of others, to fight Islam under the so-called war on terror, which is nothing but a vicious crusade against Muslims."

At the end of the four-minute video, a man read another statement off camera, declaring that there would be no let-up in the fight against the interim Iraqi Government. "We will work on exterminating them until the last fighter," he said.

Shock in Nepal

Diplomatic sources told The Hindu that the Nepalese authorities have been shocked by the news of the killing. "There was an anticipation in Nepal that the hostages would be released, especially as negotiations for freeing the three Indian truck drivers kidnapped in Iraq appeared to be making progress," they said.

Seeking the release of the hostages, the Nepalese authorities had contacted Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Ghafoor al-Samree, president of Sunni Awqaf in Baghdad. On August 27, he had reportedly appealed to the militant group to free the captives. However, the hostage-takers neither established contact with the Nepali authorities nor did they forward any demands through any other channel. Nepal's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Prakash Sharan Mahat, had reportedly said then that his Government had sought help from the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television, which had earlier aired a video of the kidnapped, in order to establish contact with the militant group.

Hardline group

Sources pointed out that unlike some other outfits in Iraq, the Jaish Ansar al-Sunna has been known for its hardline orientation. The group, which has a strong presence in central and northern Iraq, is believed to be an offshoot of the Ansar al-Islam, which has demonstrated its leanings towards the Al-Qaeda in the past.

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