Those Damn Pesky Militants Are At It Again!

It seems that a Polish woman has been kidnapped in Iraq - yeah, another one - and the same demand is being made - everyone out of Iraq. And the Australian news is reporting it as a "Militant" group.

Militant? How about fuckin' "Terrorist"? Is that too hard for ya?

I wanted to just give the link, but the Sydney Morning Herald is being snotty and wants a registration, so here's the whole article:

Militant group shows Polish woman hostage

October 28, 2004 - 8:51PM

Iraqi extremists in a videotape aired by Al-Jazeera television showed what they said was a Polish woman held hostage in Iraq and demanded that Poland remove all its troops from the country.

The group, which called itself the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Fundamentalist Brigades, said the woman worked with US troops in Iraq. They also demanded the release of all Iraqi female prisoners.
A middle-aged woman with grey hair and dressed in a pink polka-dotted blouse sat in front of two masked gunmen. Her voice was not audible on the tape.

However, Al-Jazeera said the woman called on Polish troops to leave the country and for US and Iraqi authorities to release all female detainees from the Abu Ghraib prison.

Poland commands about 6000 troops from 15 nations - including about 2400 from Poland - in the Babil, Karbala and Wasit provinces.

In response, Poland's defence minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski said: "Poland is not in the business of meeting the demands of hostage takers."

He told the private television news channel TVN24 that he could not verify the report shown by Al-Jazeera, but added that no Polish military personnel were missing in Iraq.
The armed group had also claimed responsibility for the September kidnapping of 10 Turkish hostages, who were released this month.

Late Wednesday, Al-Jazeera aired a video showing British aid worker Margaret Hassan, who again pleaded with Britain to withdraw its forces from Iraq even as about 800 British troops began deploying towards the Baghdad area, where they were expected to relieve US troops who are being preparing for a major assault on insurgent areas west and north of the capital.
Mrs Hassan, 59, who runs CARE International's operations in Iraq, has been the most high-profile of foreign hostages abducted in Iraq. No group has claimed responsibility in her abduction.

She also asked for the release of female Iraqi detainees and the closure of CARE's operations in Iraq.

A day earlier, a militant website ran a claim by the al-Qaeda-linked group led by Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi vowing to kill a 24-year-old Japanese hostage within 48 hours unless Japan withdrew its 500 troops from the country.

Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi swiftly refused the demand, saying he wouldn't give in to terrorists.

AP, Reuters