« Spain: Fourteen More Suspected Islamists Arrested |
| Australia: Hospital "Muslim Menu" Outrages Patients »
December 19, 2005
Iraq: Islamic Army in Iraq Shows "Execution" Video of US Hostage
We mentioned earlier the case of US electrician, who was kidnapped in Iraq. The BBC reported on Dec 6 that video of a blond-haired man was shown on Al Jazeera TV. The man's identity at that time was not known. A group calling itself Islamic Army in Iraq said it was holding him hostage with a threat to kill him within 48 hours if all prisoners in Iraq were not released.
The man's identity turned out to be Ronald Schulz, a 40-year old industrial electrician from Alaska. On 8 December, the Times reported that the Islamic Army in Iraq claimed that Mr Shulz had been killed. The reason given, posted on a website, blamed the US for not taking their demands seriously:
"The war criminal Bush continues his arrogance, giving no value to people's lives unless they serve his criminal, aggressive ways. Since his reply was irresponsible, he bears the consequences of his stance."The website notice also claimed that a video of the killing would be presented soon. Today, Associated Press, via Fox News reports that a video has now been produced on the website, purporting to show Mr Schulz being killed. A video shows a man being shot in the back of the head, as he kneels in dirt in an open area.
The Islamic Army of Iraq claimed Mr Schulz was a "security consultant" for the Iraq Housing Ministry. Neighbours and family from his home in Alaska claim he is merely an industrial electrician who works on contracts abroad.
Originally from North Dakota, Mr Schulz was in the Marine Corps from 1984 to 1991, and moved to Alaska six years ago. He was divorced.
There is still no news of the four members of the Christian peace delegation, Canadians James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden, US citizen Tom Fox and Norman Kember from Britain, who were kidnapped on Saturday, 26 November, and whose deadline for "execution" has already passed. And still no news of German archaeologist Suzanne Osthoff who was kidnapped with her Iraqi driver on 25 November.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at December 19, 2005 8:19 AM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)