This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/7127050.stm
The article has changed 15 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Kidnapped Britons tape condemned | Kidnapped Britons tape condemned |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The government has condemned a videotape issued by the kidnappers of five British men held captive in Iraq. | The 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". | 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 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. | 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. | They are being held by a Shia militia group calling itself the Islamic Shi'ite Resistance. |
| No matter what the cause, hostage taking can never be justified Foreign Office spokesman | No matter what the cause, hostage taking can never be justified Foreign Office spokesman |
| The tape was broadcast on Al-Arabiya television. | 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. | 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. | "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." | "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. | Consular officials had remained in regular contact with the families of the men, the spokesman added. |
| 'Ordinary men' | '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. | 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. | 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". | 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. | 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." | "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." |