Region | Iraq
Baghdad security clampdown curbs abductions
The wave of kidnappings that had swept the Iraqi capital till a few days ago has been restricted after the implementation of the 'Imposing Law' security plan, according to citizens.
- By Basil Adas, Correspondent
- Published: 00:00 March 1, 2007
Baghdad: The wave of kidnappings that had swept the Iraqi capital till a few days ago has been restricted after the implementation of the 'Imposing Law' security plan, according to citizens.
The captors are facing difficulties in carrying out their missions in Baghdad's suburbs, crowded with military and security barricades, they added.
The motives behind abductions ranged from the common demand for heavy ransom to assassination of the detainees, according to Iraqi residents.
Hadi, one of the former detainees and not his real name, told Gulf News: "My family owns properties and real estate. One day at 10.40am in October last year, I was driving my car to one of the stores my father owns.
"Everything was fine till I was taken aback by two cars blocking my way. Each car had three gunmen aiming their weapons towards me. They asked me to disembark from my car. I had no choice but to respond and surrender to their demand."
He added: "I was detained for 55 days. After continuous negotiations via cell phone, my family was able to reduce the amount of ransom from $100,000 (about Dh367,309) to $40,000 for my return."
Some of the abductions aim to sponsor armed groups. In the Sunni-majority city of Al Adhamiya, kidnapping has another aspect.
Captors tell the potential victim that if he doesn't pay the jihad payment, he will be abducted and then the bargains will start between them and his family.
Fakhri, an Iraqi citizen living in slums near Al Sarafiah bridge, told Gulf News: "I was told by three threat letters to pay $50,000 as a ransom for jihad. I didn't have that amount of money to pay.
"One day the kidnappers abducted me to put pressure on my family living outside Iraq. Finally we paid $30,000 as ransom for my release."
Except Al Qaida in Iraq, which is led by Abu Hamza Al Muhajir, and the Shiite militias, the sole purpose of the kidnappings is to turn the hostage before a court that issues the death sentence to him. Money, therefore, has no place in these groups' minds.
As in the case of Al Muhajir organisation, Shiite armed militias and specifically the Mehdi Army, have specific goals unless the kidnapped has Shiite roots.
Mustafa, an Iraqi citizen living in a rich neighbourhood in Baghdad, told Gulf News: "My mother's Shiite identity has kept me alive till now. After I was abducted by the Mehdi Army, I was sent to a neighbourhood close to an enclosure claimed to be a large dumping ground for bodies.
"After verifying my identity, they found out that my father is a Sunni from Mosul and my mother is from the Shiite Al Assadi clan."
He added: "The captors released me following the intervention of my mother's clan but not after I was beaten and tortured."
Several other Iraqi hostages, like Mustafa, had been kidnapped, but unlike him their fate ended in murder by the militias.
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