Hostage's daughter 'praying for captors'

The daughter of an Australian engineer held hostage in Iraq posted an emotional message to his kidnappers on a family website, saying she was not only praying for her father, but also for his captors.

“In my thoughts and prayers I see my dad surrounded by strength, peace, and protection to help him through this ordeal,” Douglas Wood’s daughter, Christina, wrote in the message.

“I focus on filling him with physical, emotional, and spiritual strength.

"I also focus in on his captors as well, recognising they have had very difficult lives that have shaped them into who they are, and send them prayers and love to open their hearts and minds so they will choose to release my dad soon to us, his family,” she added.

Wood, 63, who has a serious heart condition and has lived in the US for more than a decade, has been held for more than two weeks by a rebel group calling itself the Shura Council of the Mujahedeen of Iraq.

The Australian government has refused to meet the group’s demand to pull Australian troops out of Iraq.

Wood has not been heard from in more than a week since his captors released video images of him, his head shaved and face bruised, pleading for help.

His daughter’s message attempts to humanise Wood to his captors.

“One of the things I learned from him growing up is a love for other people and cultures,” she wrote.

“As an adult, I continue to respect and promote the religious beliefs of other cultures. My thoughts and prayers are as always with the Iraqi people. I sympathise with their plight, how difficult things are over there right now, and pray for a peaceful and independent future for Iraq.”