3 Japanese Held In Iraq, Korean Pastors Freed

The previously unknown group, calling itself the "Mujahedeen Brigades", threatened to kill the three Japanese unless its demand was met, giving the Japanese government three days to respond.

The Qatar-based Aljazeera television aired soundless video of the trio and their passports.

The three, including a woman, appeared blindfolded in parts of the video, while other shots clearly showed their faces and the rest of their bodies.

Close-up shots of the passports revealed their pictures, names and other details.

The footage showed one of them was a correspondent with a work permission card written in Arabic.

Japan insisted Thursday it has no plan to withdraw its troops from Iraq despite the threats, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"Since our Self-Defense Forces are providing reconstruction support for Iraqi people, we have no reason for withdrawal," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo *censored*uda told a news conference.

Japan has about 530 ground troops based in Samawah, part of a total planned deployment of 1,100 soldiers for a mission in Iraq to purify water and carry out other reconstruction tasks.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has been one of the strongest backers of the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Two With Israeli IDs Held

An Israeli Arab and an Arab resident of occupied Al-Quds (Jerusalem) are being held in Iraq by a militia group called Ansar al-Din, Israeli media reported Thursday.

Israeli public television broadcast footage taken from a tape first shown on the Iranian Arabic-language television station Al Alam.

It showed an Israeli medical card, a discount card for an Israeli supermarket, a U.S. driving license and an outdated student card.

A spokesman for the group told Al-Alam channel that the two will not be released unless all prisoners and detainees held by U.S. occupation forces in Iraq, including women, are freed.

A clip from the tape showed the two answering questions from the Iraqi fighters.

"Nabil George Yaakub Razzuq from Israel. I work for RTI (Research Triangle Institute — a U.S. think-tank which has a contract from USAID to provide local governance support in Iraq)," said one in Arabic, giving his age as 30.

"Ahmed Yassin Tikati. I work for Israel and for the international aid agency," said the second, also in Arabic, giving his age as 33.

Separately, Sadr’s Mehdi Army said it was holding Spanish hostages and possibly an American.

Spanish officials denied the report, and U.S. officials said they were not aware of any coalition troops missing.

Sadr’s militia said it planned to swap them for one of its leaders, Mustafa al-Yaacubi, arrested earlier this week by the U.S.-led occupation forces.

Korean Pastors Freed

Seven South Korean missionaries held by armed Iraqis on Thursday, April 8, were freed unharmed after several hours, the Foreign Ministry confirmed.

"The seven were been freed and arrived at a Baghdad hotel," ministry spokesman Shin Bong-Kil said.

Eight South Koreans pastors were held by unidentified Iraqi fighters but a female, identified as Kim Sang-Mi from an association of Christian churches in South Korea, had fled.

According to Yonhap news agency the group of pastors traveled to Iraq in order to attend a Christian missionary event scheduled for the northern city of Mosul from Friday through Sunday.

The country insisted that its plans to dispatch more than 3,000 South Korean troops would be unaffected by the recent development.

Resignation

Interim Iraqi interior minister Nuri Badran said Thursday he has submitted his resignation after U.S. overseer Paul Bremer expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of his ministry.

"I am resigning now," said Badran in a press conference.

"Bremer is not satisfied with the performance of the interior ministry," added Badran, who said Bremer had also told him there was a need for a reshuffle because of confessional balances.

Badran, born in 1943, is a Shiite Muslim who once served in the government of ousted president Saddam Hussein as ambassador to Russia and who fled Iraq when it invaded Kuwait in 1990.