Islamic group threatens to kill American hostage

DOHA – A militant group, the Islamic Army in Iraq, claimed yesterday the kidnapping of a US national and threatened to kill him within 48 hours unless all prisoners are released in Iraq, Al-Jazeera television said.

The Qatar-based satellite television broadcast a videotape of a blond man with his arms tied behind his back seated on a white plastic chair. It also showed the cover of a US passport and a Bank of Jordan current account number card bearing the name of Ronald Schulz, but without specifying when or how he was seized.The group, a Sunni Arab extremist group which has claimed several kidnappings and murders, said the hostage was a security advisor to Iraq’s housing and construction ministry.They threatened to kill him within 48 hours unless all prisoners in Iraq were freed and compensation paid to Al-Anbar province of western Iraq that has been the scene of several US offensives against insurgents, Al-Jazeera said.- Nampa-AFPIt also showed the cover of a US passport and a Bank of Jordan current account number card bearing the name of Ronald Schulz, but without specifying when or how he was seized.The group, a Sunni Arab extremist group which has claimed several kidnappings and murders, said the hostage was a security advisor to Iraq’s housing and construction ministry.They threatened to kill him within 48 hours unless all prisoners in Iraq were freed and compensation paid to Al-Anbar province of western Iraq that has been the scene of several US offensives against insurgents, Al-Jazeera said.- Nampa-AFP