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| Iraq hostage families make appeal | Iraq hostage families make appeal |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The families of five British men taken prisoner in Iraq more than three months ago have appealed to their captors: "please send them home to us". | The families of five British men taken prisoner in Iraq more than three months ago have appealed to their captors: "please send them home to us". |
| The men were seized on 29 May from Baghdad's Finance Ministry by gunmen believed to be in the Mehdi Army. | |
| Coalition troops have been searching for the men - four bodyguards and a computer expert - in Sadr City. | Coalition troops have been searching for the men - four bodyguards and a computer expert - in Sadr City. |
| One of the five has been named as 28-year-old Alec MacLachlan, from Llanelli, south west Wales. | One of the five has been named as 28-year-old Alec MacLachlan, from Llanelli, south west Wales. |
| The other four men have not been named. | |
| Statement | |
| The relatives' statement urges the captors to end their "torment" of being separated from "ordinary family men" who were merely trying to earn a living. | |
| The five men should be released immediately and returned to their loved ones David MilibandForeign Secretary | |
| The statement continues: "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. | |
| "These are not men with political views or any authority, they are ordinary family men who have parents, wives and children that love and cherish them - please send them home to us." | |
| US commanders said earlier this week that they believed the Britons were still alive. | |
| Foreign Secretary David Miliband promised the government would "do all it can" to secure the hostages' release. | |
| He said: "Taking hostages is never justified, no matter what cause it may claim to serve. The five men should be released immediately and returned to their loved ones." |