German hostages in orange overalls

Today two German engineers, Rene Braeunlich and Thomas Nitzschke, will be abducted outside their workplace in the industrial town of Baiji, 180km north of Baghdad. According to news reports, Al Arabiya will air a hostage video of them dressed in orange overalls, the kind associated with Muslims detained at Guantanamo Bay. Hostage takers Ansar al-Tawhid Wa-Sunna will threaten to kill the men unless Germany ends its cooperation with the Iraq government and closes its mission in Baghdad, and German firms stop their dealings there.

Osama tape mentions US torture

Today al-Jazeera will air an audio tape of a speech by Osama Bin Laden addressed to the people of the United States of America (BBC transcript). In it, he will refer to the US government's torture policy (links to what he's referring to have been added)

Jihad is continuing, praise be to God, despite all the repressive measures the US army and its agents take to the point where there is no significant difference between these crimes and those of Saddam.

These crimes include the raping of women and taking them hostage instead of their husbands. There is no power but in God.

The torturing of men has reached the point of using chemical acids [victims found with peeling skin?] and electric drills in their joints. If they become desperate with them, they put the drill on their heads until death.

If you like, read the humanitarian reports on the atrocities and crimes in the prisons of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.

I say that despite all the barbaric methods, they have failed to ease resistance, and the number of mujahideen, praise be to God, is increasing.

He will also misquote `Rogue State' by William Blum (actually the quote is from `Freeing the World to Death: Essays on the American Empire' by the same) to express the response he wants from the American people

If Bush declines but to continue lying and practicing injustice [against us], it is useful for you to read the book of "The Rogue State", the introduction of which reads: If I were a president, I would halt the operations against the United States.

First, I will extend my apologies to the widows, orphans, and the persons who were tortured. Afterwards, I will announce that the US interference in the world's countries has ended for ever.

As a curious side-note, `Rogue State' has jumped from No. 209,000 to No. 30 on the Amazon.com sales list (source).

Carroll killed unless female Iraqi prisoners released

Today Time will be the first to report on the kidnap of freelancer journalist Jill Carroll, Al Jazeera will air a brief video of her from the hostage-takers.

In an accompanying statement, the hostage-takers will threaten to kill her within 72 hours unless female Iraqi prisoners held by the US are released. By many accounts Iraqi women have been raped while in US custody (e.g. (Selwa's case, what Saddam Selah saw while detained, the letter from "Noor" and the findings of the Taguba report, Saleh's observations while detained), which motivates extreme concern for their welfare when detained.

The abduction took place two days earlier, but was controversially kept quiet in a bid to win her release before her abductors discovered that she had worked for the Christian Science Monitor.

On 31 March, 2006, Jill Carrol will be released. In an initial interview, she will state that she was treated well and not harmed. Continuing a recent theme of making personal attacks against recently released hostages who disagree with the invasion of Iraqi, some American Republicans will subsequently question her mental stability, claim that she's a terrorist, and say that she was a willing participant in her kidnapping.

Suicide bombing of Interior Ministry retaliation for torture

Today, on Iraq's National Police Day, two suicide bombers disguised as police will infiltrated the heavily fortified Interior Ministry compound in Baghdad and blow themselves up killing 29.

An Internet site known for publishing extremist material from Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi carried a claim of responsibility for yesterday's suicide attack, saying it was in revenge for the torture of Sunni Arab prisoners at two detention facilities run by the Shi'ite-led Interior Ministry.