Turkish Companies Withdraw

Osman Kahramanli, the owner of Kahramanli Company, said yesterday: "We do not think about carrying cargo to Iraq as long as these kinds of events continue. We have now stopped our activities. We will not start carrying cargo into Iraq until the safety of our drivers is guaranteed."

Similarly, the Ozturk Company will withdraw their workforce as well. "We have to convey to the public that we will stop our activities if necessary for the safety of our employees," noted the owner of Ozturk, Omer Ozturk.

Demir and Unurlu, the two drivers currently being held as hostages by the Tawhid and Jihad Movement, groups linked to the Jordanian militant, Abu Muab Al-Zarqawi, began their journey in Ankara, where they were given a shipment of American supplies destined for Bagdat (Baghdad). Upon their capture, the group sent a videocassette of the drivers to Al-Jazeera with a demand: withdrawal the Kahramanli Company from Iraq within forty-eight hours, or risk the death of two employees.