German hostages in 'video plea'

[Eugene]

Last Updated: Friday, 27 January 2006, 08:42 GMT

German hostages in 'video plea'

The Arabic al-Jazeera TV channel has broadcast a video purporting to show two German engineers
who were kidnapped in Iraq on Tuesday.

The pair appealed to Berlin to work for their release, the station said.

Kidnappers seized Thomas Nitzschke and Rene Braeunlich near an oil refinery compound at Baiji,
180km (110 miles) north of Baghdad.

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Gunmen stood behind the men in the video, in which the captives were seen speaking, but not heard.

Al-Jazeera said the tape was received from a group that calls itself the Ansar al-Tawhid wa al-Sunnah,
which did not make any demands through the broadcast.

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Full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4653170.stm