Five Britons 'seized in Baghdad'

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Five Britons are reported to have been kidnapped from Iraq's finance ministry in Baghdad.


Witnesses said police units sealed off the street outside the ministry

They included four bodyguards and a finance expert. Earlier reports said the expert was German.

Witnesses and sources told the BBC that the kidnappers wore police uniforms and arrived in up to 40 police vehicles.

"We are aware of reports that a group of Westerners have been kidnapped. We are urgently looking into them," the UK foreign office said.

The foreign office is set to hold an emergency meeting on the situation and is assembling a crisis team.

Also on Tuesday, Baghdad was shaken by a bus explosion which killed at least 22 people and injured about 55, and a car bomb which killed at least 15 people and hurt at least 36.

The US military also announced that two of its soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash on Monday in Diyala province.

Renegade police?

There are conflicting reports about exactly how Tuesday's abduction took place and how many people are missing.



Witnesses said it was carried out by what appeared to be a police unit.

The street was sealed off at both ends and the kidnappers, in police camouflage uniforms, walked straight past guards at the finance ministry building on Palestine Street, the witnesses said.

A police source told the BBC that dozens of police vehicles were used in the operation.

The BBC's Paul Wood in Baghdad says that if such reports are true, it could point to the involvement of a renegade police unit, possibly special commandoes.

While it has been possible in the past for criminals or militants to hire police uniforms and vehicles, he says, the scale of this operation suggests real police involvement.

It is well known that the Iraqi police are heavily infiltrated by militia groups, leading to split loyalties and corruption, our correspondent says.

Fewer kidnappings

The missing security guards are all believed to have been working for the GardaWorld security agency - a Canadian-owned firm largely staffed by British former service personnel.


Iraqi police are heavily infiltrated by militias

Their abducted client was thought to be advising the Iraqi finance ministry.

The BBC's security correspondent, Frank Gardner, says a British crisis team, including police hostage negotiators, members of the secret intelligence service, and regional experts, is being assembled to establish lines of communication with the kidnappers.

About 200 foreigners of many different nationalities have been kidnapped in Iraq over the past four years, though the number has fallen dramatically since a few years ago.

This is thought to be the first time an abduction has been staged at a government facility.

Correspondents say hopes for the captives' future depends on who is holding them.

The Sunni al-Qaeda has a record of killing captives, while if it is a Shia group, there may be scope for political negotiation, the BBC's Paul Wood in Baghdad says.

If it is a criminal group, then GardaWorld can expect a ransom demand, he says. However, the British government has a declared position of not paying ransoms.



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The UK government has condemned a videotape issued by the kidnappers of five British men held captive in Iraq.



A Foreign Office spokesman said the tape would "add to the distress of the men's families and friends".

The tape shows one of the men, who gives his name, saying that he has been held for 173 days and adding "no-one seems to care".

The five men were seized on 29 May from Baghdad's Finance Ministry building by gunmen disguised as police officers.

They are being held by a Shia militia group calling itself the Islamic Shi'ite Resistance.

The tape was broadcast on Al-Arabiya television.

The Britons - four guards and a computer expert - were initially taken to a Shia suburb after being seized.

"No matter what the cause, hostage-taking can never be justified," the Foreign Office spokesman said.

"We again call on those holding the men to release them unconditionally."

Consular officials had remained in regular contact with the families of the men, the spokesman added.

'Ordinary men'

In the tape, filmed in front of a banner with a Shia emblem and dated 18 November, the kidnappers demand the withdrawal of British forces within 10 days - a deadline which has passed.

They do not make specific threats about what they would do if there was no withdrawal.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said that, up until now, the Foreign Office has not wanted to discuss the kidnapping because officials do not want anything to get in the way of their negotiations through third parties to get the men released.

In September, the families of the five men urged their captors to end their "torment" of being separated from "ordinary family men".

The statement continued: "They are sons, fathers and brothers who were working to support us - their families.

"We miss them so much and want them to come home to us so that our families can be complete again and our children no longer have to endure the pain of missing their fathers."

VIDEO:-
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An Arabic TV channel has aired a video claiming to show one of five Britons captured in Iraq eight months ago.


A man saying he is Peter Moore appears in the video


The footage showed a man making an appeal to Prime Minister Gordon Brown to help secure the hostages' freedom.

"My name is Peter Moore, I have been held here for nearly eight months now," the man said in English.

He asks Mr Brown to free nine Iraqis in exchange for the release of the Britons seized in May 2007. The Foreign Office has condemned the release of the video.

The video shows the man speaking in English with an Arabic translation played over the top.

'Simple exchange'

The man appealed for the freedom of the Iraqis prisoners - being held by the coalition authorities.

We condemn the release of videos such as this, which are greatly distressing to the families of those involved

FCO statement

"All I want is to leave this place. I tell Gordon Brown the matter is simple: release their prisoners so we can go," he said.

The man, who is wearing a black and white tracksuit, says on the tape that he is from Lincoln and appeals to the British government to help secure the group's freedom.

"It's as simple as that. It's a simple exchange of people. That is all they want - their people and we can go home," the man said.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) criticised the footage and said: "We condemn the release of videos such as this, which are greatly distressing to the families of those involved. Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.

"We urge those holding the group to release them immediately. We are in close contact with the Iraqi authorities and doing everything we can to try and secure a swift release."

The FCO said it wanted anyone who could influence the situation to do what they could to ensure the "safety and release of the hostages".

"We again call directly on those holding these men to release them," it said.

'Shrunken' demands

The five men - a computer expert and four bodyguards - were seized from Baghdad's Finance Ministry by gunmen wearing police uniforms on 29 May 2007 without a shot being fired.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad said little was known about the hostage-takers who call themselves the Islamic Shia Resistance in Iraq and they had not been heard of before.

He said they could be connected to the Mehdi Army militia or have possible links with Iran.

The video has not yet been authenticated but our correspondent said there was "little to doubt the veracity of it".

This is the second video to have been released since the men were captured.

The first tape, in December 2007, showed a different hostage who was flanked by gunmen.

Our correspondent said this latest video seemed to show that the demands of their captors had "shrunk".


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news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7265718.stm

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The remains of two British security guards held hostage in Iraq for two years have been identified and named.



They were highly likely to be those of Jason Swindlehurst, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, and Jason Creswell, from Glasgow, the Foreign Office (FCO) said.

Two other guards and the IT consultant they were protecting, Peter Moore, are still thought to be captive.

Gordon Brown sent his condolences to the victims' families and called for the release of the remaining hostages.

Videos of captives

The prime minister said: "There is no justification for hostage-taking and I call on those people who are holding the other Iraqi and British hostages to release them immediately."

Consultant Mr Moore, from Lincoln, and his guards were captured by armed militants at the Ministry of Finance in Baghdad in May 2007.

They were surrounded in broad daylight by 40 gunmen wearing police uniforms and bundled into vans.


Prime Minister Gordon Brown offers his condolences to the families
The bodies of Mr Swindlehurst and Mr Creswell were handed over to Iraqi authorities on Friday night, two years after they were taken in Baghdad.

They remain in Baghdad's green zone in the care of the British Embassy. A government source confirmed that the bodies had not been mutilated or beheaded.

Forensic examiners are trying to establish the date and method of death ahead of an anticipated murder inquiry.

Contractors

The kidnappers had previously claimed Mr Swindlehurst committed suicide in May 2008, but his family had said that "Jason's not that sort of guy".

In the first video released by the kidnappers, dated 18 November 2007, he was seen saying "my name is Jason Swindlehurst" with a black banner displaying Arabic writing in the background.

Mr Creswell - originally from Glasgow - was believed to have been living with his partner and two young children in Portlethen, south of Aberdeen.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said: "This is incredibly tough for the families because there really was so much optimism. This was a blow out of nowhere."



Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent
"The Foreign Office approach is a softly-softly one. Questions will be asked whether this was the right approach.

"When the BBC's Alan Johnston was kidnapped in Gaza, we made a big song and dance about it. We put the whole story on the news the whole time.


"There were operational reasons why that wasn't advisable in this case.

"The kidnappers said they wanted a media blackout, which they kept breaking, but I think there will be a lot of soul-searching about this."

The security firm which employed the dead hostages, Gardaworld, paid tribute to their bravery and said they were "deeply shocked" by the news.

A spokesman said: "These two professionals were outstanding individuals and experts who commanded the respect of all those who knew and worked with them."

The FCO said it had "grave concerns" over the safety of the three men still thought to be held. The two other security guards have been named only as Alan, from Dumbarton, and Alec, from South Wales.

A spokeswoman said it informed the families of the dead men "with deep regret".

"Our thoughts are with them at this sad time, and we ask that the media allow them privacy to deal with this news. We continue to do everything we can towards the safe release of the other hostages," she said.

Mr Moore's father Graeme, from Leicestershire, said waiting for news that he was not one of the dead men was "torture".

The 59-year-old delivery driver, from Leicestershire, said his thoughts were now with the family members of the other hostages.

"Obviously, I hope my son is alive but I feel desperate for the other families. What they are going through is unimaginable," he said.

It is possible the handover of the bodies could be seen as a trade-off for the release of militant Laith al-Khazali, on 6 June.

His freedom had been a stipulation for the hostages being freed, the BBC's Frank Gardner said.

The aim of the kidnappers, who call themselves the Islamic Shiite Resistance in Iraq, is to get their militants freed from Camp Cropper, a US military prison west of Baghdad.


Every stop was pulled out to try and find these men

Kim Howells
Former Foreign Office minister
This is Britain's longest running hostage crisis since the days of Terry Waite and John McCarthy in Lebanon in the 1980s.

Little is known about the the men because of a media blackout during a large period of their captivity.

The blackout originally came on the instruction of the hostage-takers who said they did not want publicity.

The British government has a policy of not making substantive concessions to kidnappers to discourage further kidnapping.

However former Foreign Office Minister, Kim Howells, who was involved in trying to negotiate the hostages' release when they were first taken, said the government did all it could.

He told the BBC: "In the best part of four years that I was in the Foreign Office, I don't know of another operation that was better resourced, that more energy was put into.

"Every stop was pulled out to try and find these men."

The policy of not making substantive concessions has been criticised by some and praised by others, including some North African countries who have attacked other European nations for paying huge ransoms to kidnappers.

Mr Moore had been working for American management consultancy Bearingpoint when he was kidnapped, while the other men were contractors employed to guard him.


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British hostage Peter Moore has been released alive after more than two-and-a-half years in captivity in Iraq.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the IT consultant from Lincoln, who was captured in Baghdad in May 2007, was in good health and "absolutely delighted".

His family said news of his release was "the best Christmas present ever" and "a big black cloud" had been lifted.

Four bodyguards were seized with Mr Moore. Three were shot dead; the fourth is also thought to have been killed.

The bodies of Jason Swindlehurst, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, and Jason Creswell, of Glasgow, were returned to the UK in June 2009, followed by that of Alec MacLachlan, of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, in September.



Fran and Pauline Sweeney said Mr Moore "sounded well and was cracking jokes"
Mr Miliband has called for the release of the body of the fourth guard - Alan McMenemy from Glasgow.

Mr Miliband said Mr Moore, who had been released on Wednesday morning, was in the British Embassy in Baghdad and would be reunited with his family as soon as possible.

Mr Moore's stepmother Pauline Sweeney told the BBC that hearing of his release was "the best Christmas present ever".

"We spoke to him this morning. I just burst into tears and kept asking if it was true. He sounds really well, very upbeat, he's cracking jokes," she said.

"He said when they came in to him this morning, he thought he was going out to a bullet in his head.


ANALYSIS

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner
The sudden and dramatic release of Peter Moore has not come entirely out of the blue.

The Americans have only just handed over a key Shi'ite militant, Qais Al-Khaz'ali, to the Iraqi authorities after holding him since 2007.

This is the man the kidnappers always wanted back. They made it clear from the outset they wanted to trade prisoners: Qais and a handful of other Shi'ite militants for the five Britons.

British government policy has always been not to make substantive demands to kidnappers.

The tragedy for most of the British hostages and their families is that Iraq's political reconciliation process has only now reached a point where Qais could be released without appearing to give in to those kidnappers' demands.

"He had seen quite a few of the appeal broadcasts, which kept him going and made him realise there were people out there fighting for him and that he wasn't forgotten."

The foreign secretary said he had had a "very moving" conversation with Mr Moore, who was "to put it mildly, absolutely delighted". He is undergoing medical checks.

Mr Miliband said: "The joy and relief that will be felt by Peter's family will be mirrored by the continuing anguish of the family of Alan McMenemy.

"We have believed for some time that he has been killed and his family have been told our view of his likely fate."

The foreign secretary also told the BBC there were no concessions or deals made to secure Mr Moore's release.

"This was an Iraqi-led process of political reconciliation in which an armed group has made vows to come within the political system and to renounce violence, and that's the foundation of Peter Moore's release," he said.



David Miliband: "I am pleased to confirm that Peter Moore has been released today"
Mr Moore had been working for US management consultancy Bearingpoint in Iraq. The other men were security contractors employed to guard him.

The group was captured at the Iraqi Ministry of Finance by about 40 men disguised as Iraqi policemen.

They were understood to belong to an obscure militia known as the Islamic Shia Resistance, which demanded the release of up to nine of their associates held in US military custody since early 2007.

Several had already been handed to the Iraqi government and some had since been freed under the reconciliation process.

'Key' figure released

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said a senior Whitehall official had confirmed that Qais Al-Khaz'ali - the leader of the group that kidnapped the five Britons in Baghdad - was released "very recently" by the US to the Iraqi authorities.

"The main person the abductors wanted back, I'm told, is out of US custody... and handed over to the Iraqis," he said.

Qais Al-Khazaali had been suspected of involvement in the kidnapping and eventual killing of five US soldiers, Mr Gardner added.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "I am hugely relieved by the wonderful news that Peter has been freed.


Alan McMenemy is believed to have been killed by his captors
"At this moment of celebration, we also remember the families of British hostages who have been killed in Iraq and elsewhere.

"And we pledge to continue to do everything we can to bring British hostages back to their loved ones."

Mr Moore's father Graeme, 60, from Wigston, Leicestershire, said he was "over the moon" at the news.

He said: "We are so relieved and we just want to get him home, back now to his family and friends.

"I'm breaking down, I'm just so overjoyed for the lad."

His natural mother, Avril Sweeney, 54, from Thornton Cleveleys, Lancashire, said: "It's like a big black cloud has been hanging over me and it has lifted now.

"I can smile again."

Terry Waite, who himself was a former hostage, said he was absolutely delighted at Mr Moore's release.

He added: "It is both a very happy time for Peter and his family and... while the other families will be delighted for him, there will be that tinge of sadness and one keeps them in mind at this point."



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