Family of Australian hostage appeal for his release

The family of an Australian held hostage in Iraq has appealed for his release, saying the captors’ demand that his country begin withdrawing troops from the country would not change the government’s policy.

Militants holding 63-year-old Douglas Wood, an Australian who lives in California, have issued a 72-hour ultimatum for Australia to start pulling troops out of Iraq, Arab television station al-Jazeera reported.

Wood’s brother Malcolm issued a statement on behalf of the family appealing to the captors to think of their hostage as a brother, father and husband and to release him unharmed.

“The family is shocked and horrified to hear of this ultimatum from Douglas’s captors,” the statement said.

“We do not believe Douglas’s captivity, or this ultimatum, will make any difference to the policy of the Australian government.”

Al-Jazeera did not specify what the militants would do if their deadline was not met, but a number of previous hostages have been killed.

The station showed new footage of Douglas Wood with his head shaven and rifles pointed at his head. The message follows the first video tape that announced the abduction released on May 1.

Australia sent 2,000 elite troops to take part in the US-led invasion of Iraq and still has 920 troops in and around the country.