British journalist kidnapped in Iraq
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-08-13 17:40

Iraqi militants kidnapped a British journalist in the southern city of Basra and threatened to kill him if US forces did not pull out of the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf within 24 hours.

The kidnappers instructed a freelance cameraman working for Reuters to film the scene, which showed a hooded militant standing next to kidnapped journalist James Brandon from Britain's Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

"We demand the American forces withdraw from Najaf within 24 hours or we will kill this British hostage," the militant is heard saying.

Witnesses said gunmen seized Brandon from a hotel in mainly Shi'ite Basra overnight.

"I'm a journalist, I just write about what is happening in Iraq ... " said Brandon, who looked shaken and was barechested with a bandage around his head.

A spokesman for Iraq's radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for Brandon's release. Sadr and many of his followers have been holed up in holy sites in Najaf after nine days of fighting with US forces.

"We appeal to the captors of the British hostage to free him," the spokesman told Reuters.

A spokeswoman for the Sunday Telegraph told Reuters in London: "James Brandon was in Basra filing for this Sunday's newspaper. We are pursuing his situation with the greatest concern." She declined further comment.

Britain's Foreign Office said it had no details on what may have happened.

"We are aware of an incident in Basra involving a British national but have no further details at present," a spokeswoman said.

Militants in Iraq have waged a campaign of kidnapping aimed at driving out individuals, companies and troops supporting US forces and the new Iraqi interim administration.

Scores of hostages have been kidnapped by armed groups. Some have been freed but nine have been killed.

US marines backed by aircraft and tanks launched a major assault on Sadr's fighters in Najaf on Thursday around the Imam Ali Mosque and an ancient cemetery.



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