Kidnappers issue Australian hostage ultimatum

Militants holding an Australian engineer hostage have issued a 72-hour ultimatum for Australia to start pulling troops out of Iraq, Arab television station al-Jazeera reported today.

The station did not specify what the militants were threatening to do if their deadline isn’t met, but a number of previous hostages have been killed.

Al-Jazeera aired new footage of Douglas Wood with his head shaven and rifles pointed at his head.

A group calling itself the Shura Council of the Mujahedeen of Iraq claimed responsibility for seizing Wood, who is married to an American and lives in the US, in a separate video tape released on May 1.

Al-Jazeera said today “the Shura Council of the Mujahedeen of Iraq has given Australia 72 hours to begin withdrawing its troops from Iraq”.