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German Officials, Iraqi Police Give Details on Kidnapping of Germans in Iraq

Posted on: Wednesday, 25 January 2006, 09:00 CST

Text of unattributed report entitled "Guessing game over the kidnappers' motives" published by the German Spiegel Online website on 25 January

The reasons behind the kidnapping of the two German engineers in Iraq are still largely unknown. Reportedly, there has not been a letter claiming responsibility, nor demands for the payment of ransom money to date. But the kidnappers obviously focused on foreigners as kidnapping targets.

Baghdad: According to information obtained by Spiegel online and the newspaper Bild, the kidnapped persons are Thomas N., 28, and Rene B., 31. The two men had been in Iraq for just a few days. How they tried to protect themselves against a possible abduction in the region north of Baghdad, which is notorious for fights of insurgents and largely controlled by criminal gangs, is still unclear.

They were there on behalf of the Saxony-based company Cryotec GmbH, which had already executed several orders in Iraq in the past. The work mainly focused on accessories for oil plants, in which the company has specialized. In the evening [of 24 January], the first investigators of the Federal Office of Criminal Investigations arrived at the company headquarters to question the business manager. However, with reference to the sensitive situation, he declined to comment. Earlier, he had indirectly confirmed to a local newspaper that the two men were in Iraq on his behalf.

According to the Iraqi police, at the time of the abduction, two Iraqis, allegedly colleagues of the engineers, were also in the Germans' car. But these were not taken along. At least four men with firearms stopped the engineers' car yesterday near the Bayji oil refinery, 250 km north of Baghdad. The attackers dragged the two Germans out of the car and drove away with them in two other cars, the police officer said. The two Iraqis were left behind, he stated.

Police officer Falah al-Janabi said that the hostage-takers had worn military uniforms. The Germans had been on their way to work, he stated.

According to statements by the Iraqi chemical company for which the German firm carried out works in Bayji, a third German only narrowly escaped being kidnapped. The two other men's hands were tied, and then they were pushed into the trunk of a car, it was reported. Then the kidnappers drove away, a spokesman for the Iraqi company continued.

The Germans had arrived in Iraq only on Friday [20 January], and by today, should install a production plant in the Iraqi company, which produces detergents. After the attack, the police set up roadblocks and started the search for the perpetrators. On 19 January, in the same region, Brazilian engineer Joao Jose Vasconcelos was kidnapped, whose whereabouts have been completely unknown to date.

Meanwhile, terrorism expert Kai Hirschmann said in a newspaper interview that he regards it as possible that the behaviour of the Federal Government in the Osthoff kidnapping case might have promoted this new kidnapping of Germans in Iraq. This might have played a role, Hirschmann told Neue Presse. Foreigners are a worthwhile kidnapping target, said the head of the Essen-based Institute for Terrorism Research.

In Berlin, once again a Foreign Ministry crisis management team has been set up, trying to free the German hostages in Iraq. A letter claiming responsibility has not yet been obtained, it was reported from Berlin in the evening. "We are doing everything to obtain all available information," said Foreign Minister Frank- Walter Steinmeier (Social Democratic Party of Germany). The Federal Intelligence Service (BND) is also involved in the investigations.

Source: BBC Monitoring European

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