Sadr militia says it holds Spanish, possibly US hostages

[RoyGBiv]

Sadr militia says it holds Spanish, possibly US hostages

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr's militia said it was holding Spanish hostages and possibly an American whom they plan to swap for one of their Najaf-based leaders, Mustafa Yaacubi, arrested by coalition forces Saturday.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1504&ncid=1504&e=2&u=/afp/20040408/ts_afp/iraq_unrest_us_spain_040408082847">More

[maddezmom]

1. pls check the link..it's not working for me

:)

[RoyGBiv]

2. Sorry - Correct Link

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1504&ncid=1504&e=2&u=/afp/20040408/ts_afp/iraq_unrest_us_spain_040408082847

[maddezmom]

3. thanks for the link

yikes, this isn't good. :(

[DeepModem Mom]

4. Another ominous development --

[Pert_UK]

5. Spanish & US military deny there are hostages....

on BBC TV breakfast news.

P.

[wickerwoman]

6. Why are they hostages and not POWs?

[saigon68]

7. The Geneva Convention does not apply to this war

Guantanamo-- these are "enemy combatants" that is why no Prisoners will be taken

[wickerwoman]

9. But then why were Pvt. Lynch and company listed as POWs?

Did the shift happen after Bush declared the end of major combat operations?

Sorry, the way this is being reported is very confusing to me.

[Spentastic]

8. Because

The U.S fucked that up when they started carting "illegal combatants" off to Guantanamo bay.

If the militia does have "hostages" an an accomadation is not reached expect the "hostages" to be killed.

[modrepub]

10. Could be

American "security forces", i.e. contractors being held. Technically they are not members of the armed forces. Not sure what applies to all these security contractors we've got over there or if anyone knows how many there are or what they are doing.

[noonwitch]

11. Maybe they're not soldiers

It could be civilians-businesspeople or aid workers.

[wickerwoman]

15. That makes sense.

Thanks modrepub and noonwitch. You saved me a rant. :-)

[NewYorkerfromMass]

12. Good. Moral fortitude needs to be tested.

If only it were a Bush friend or relative, then we'd see the leather hit the road.

[alcuno]

13. Maybe Japanese?

Al Jazeera TV saying that 3 Japanese are being held hostage.

[RoyGBiv]

14. Could Be

With the Ministry of Disinformation working over-time, it's hard to know what's what.

[Dr Fate]

16. WTF!!! OMG!!!

This is awful-those bastards!

This is getting hairy to say the least...