posted 04-15-2004 10:37 AM            

Italian kidnap hostage executed
15 April 2004

Iraqi militants executed an Italian hostage in the first known killing among nearly two dozen foreigners being held in Iraq.

The militants who killed the Italian hostage demanded the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq and threatened to kill three other hostages, the Arab TV network Al-Jazeera reported.

The killing could further heighten fears among international aid workers, contractors and journalists, some of whom are already restricting their activities in the country.

A French journalist was freed after a four-day hostage ordeal and Russia announced it would evacuate about 800 civilian specialists in Iraq. Reports said two more Japanese -- freelance journalists -- were kidnapped outside Baghdad.

Al-Jazeera said it had video of the killing of the Italian but did not broadcast it because it was too graphic. Al-Jazeera did show footage of the four Italian security guards sitting on the ground, holding up their passports and surrounded by armed men.

The Italian ambassador to Qatar, where the network is based, watched the video and confirmed the man killed was Fabrizio Quattrocchi, who had been kidnapped, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said.

Frattini said the government would do "what is possible and impossible" to free the remaining three.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has ruled out any withdrawal of troops. "They have cut short a life. They have not damaged our values and our commitment to peace," he said.

The French television journalist, freed unharmed at a mosque in Baghdad, said he suffered constant movement and threats to his life during a four-day hostage ordeal.