The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report
Sept. 22, 2004 — -- A videotape posted on Islamic Web site Wednesday showed a man identifying himself as British hostage Kenneth Bigley pleading for British Prime Minister Tony Blair to help save his life. "To Mr. Blair, my name is Ken Bigley, from Liverpool," the man said in the videotape. "I think this is possibly my last chance," the speaker said in the grainy video. "I don't want to die. I don't deserve. Please free female prisoners held in Iraqi prisons," AP reported Wednesday.
And a London-to-Washington flight was diverted to Maine when it was discovered that passenger Yusuf Islam formerly known as singer Cat Stevens was on a government watch list and barred from entering the country, news wires reported.
IRAQ NEWS
Video Shows U.K. Hostage's Plea for Life
A videotape posted on Islamic Web site Wednesday showed a man identifying himself as British hostage Kenneth Bigley pleading for British Prime Minister Tony Blair to help save his life. "To Mr. Blair, my name is Ken Bigley, from Liverpool," the man said in the videotape. "I think this is possibly my last chance," the speaker said in the grainy video. "I don't want to die. I don't deserve. Please free female prisoners held in Iraqi prisons." (AP)
Iraqi Officials Say Female Inmate Is to Be Released Two Iraqi officials said today that the government is planning to release one of two female scientists being held prisoner for working on Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons program. The announcement, which was made amid some confusion about the women's actual status, came on the heels of repeated demands for the release of all female prisoners by a militant group that has claimed it beheaded two American hostages in two days. (NY Times)
Iraq's Two Female Captives "Dr Germ" and "Mrs Anthrax"The U.S. military says only two Iraqi women are held in its prisons in the country, both in a camp for high-profile detainees. Dubbed "Dr Germ" and "Mrs. Anthrax" by their captors, the two women —Rihab Taha, a British-trained microbiologist, and Huda Ammash, a U.S.-trained microbial genetic engineer —are accused of working on Saddam Hussein's weapons programmes. (Reuters)
