Australian kidnapped in Iraq

Iraqi militants have kidnapped an Australian man who pleaded for US-led coalition forces to leave Iraq in order to save his life, according to a video tape obtained today.

The tape, obtained by Associated Press Television News, showed a man who identified himself as Douglas Wood seated between two masked militants pointing automatic weapons at him.

A sign shown on the tape carried the name of the militant group responsible for the kidnapping, “Shura Council of the Mujahedeen of Iraq”.

The man appealed to US President George Bush, Prime Minister Tony Blair and Australian Prime John Howard to pull their soldiers out of Iraq and leave the country to Iraqis to look after themselves, saying he did not want to die.

The appeal came as Australia’s defence minister Robert Hill met today with Iraq’s incoming prime minister to mark the beginning of another Australian troop deployment.

Australia’s decision to bolster its presence in Iraq – sending in 450 troops to protect Japanese military engineers in southern Iraq – contrasts sharply with other US allies who are in the process of withdrawing their troops or setting deadlines for their departure.

Mr Hill said his country remained committed to helping war-ravaged Iraq rebuild.

“This is my fifth visit in two years,” he told reporters after meeting with Prime Minister-designate Ibrahim al-Jaafari. “Australia stands firm in supporting Iraq.”

Australia now has 1,370 soldiers in the Middle East, including around 750 in Iraq.

Mr Hill said Australia would remain in Iraq “until the job is done”.

The group claiming responsibility for the kidnap has previously said it was responsible for attacks on US soldiers and Iraqi forces, plus the kidnapping of Turkish national Aytullah Gezmen, who was freed in September.

Mr Wood, 63, appearing dishevelled and shaken, said he was a US resident living in Alamo, California, with his American wife. He said he came to Iraq almost a year ago to work on reconstruction projects with the US military.

“My captives are fiercely patriotic they believe in a strong united Iraq looking after its own destiny,” he said on the tape, which could not be immediately verified. “They (the Iraqis) are strong, they will be (able to) … look after themselves against their neighbours. Please help me. I don’t want to die.”

He is the second Australian to be kidnapped in Iraq following October’s capture of journalist John Martinkus, who was seized in Baghdad and held for around 24 hours before being freed.

More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq since Saddam Hussein’s regime collapsed in April 2003. Some kidnappers have sought ransom, while others pursued political motives such as the withdrawal of foreign companies and troops from Iraq. The kidnappers have killed more than 30 hostages.