Cairo – Iraqi militants have kidnapped a California resident working in Iraq, and he pleaded for U.S.-led coalition forces to leave the country to save his life, according to a videotape released Sunday.
The tape showed a man identifying himself as Douglas Wood, 63, seated between two masked militants pointing automatic weapons at him.
Wood’s wife, Pearl, said she had seen the tape and the man being held was definitely her husband. She said he had been in Iraq about a year and half, working as an engineer.
A sign shown on the tape carried the name of the militant group responsible for the kidnapping, Shura Council of the Mujahedeen of Iraq. The group previously has claimed responsibility for attacks on U.S. soldiers and Iraqi forces, plus the kidnapping of Turkish national Aytullah Gezmen, who was freed in September.
The tape was broadcast on al-Jazeera television. Its authenticity couldn’t immediately be verified.
Wood, appearing disheveled and shaken, said he was Australian but lived in Alamo, Calif., with his American wife. Alamo is an unincorporated suburb 25 miles east of San Francisco.
“I’m Australian, a U.S. resident, my wife is an American. We have a house in Alamo, Calif.,” he said, adding that he came to Iraq almost a year ago to work on reconstruction projects with the American military.
The captive appealed to President Bush, Australian Prime Minister John Howard and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzen- egger to order coalition forces out of Iraq and let Iraqis look after themselves, saying he did not want to die.
More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq since Saddam Hussein’s regime collapsed in April 2003. Some kidnappers have sought ransom, while others pursued political motives such as the withdrawal of foreign companies and troops from Iraq. The kidnappers have killed more than 30 hostages.
