Russia demanded the immediate release on Monday of four Russian
diplomats abducted more than two weeks ago in Iraq after a group
linked to the al-Qaida terror network claimed responsibility for
the kidnapping.
The Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella grouping several
Islamist militant groups in Iraq including the al-Qaida, claimed
responsibility for kidnapping four Russian diplomats and killing a
fifth in Baghdad on June 3 in a statement posted on the Internet,
the pan-Arab al-Arabiya satellite television reported on
Monday.
"Moscow has taken these reports seriously and is taking rapid
moves to verify them," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin
said.
"We again call on the abductors to immediately free the Russian
citizens and guarantee their security," Kamynin said.
"Whatever the motives of those who perpetrated this action,
there is no excuse for any abduction of representatives of a
country that has actively contributed to efforts to restore peace
in Iraq and ensure the independence and well-being of the friendly
Iraqi people," he said.
The four diplomats were abducted on June 3 when their vehicle
came under fire from unidentified gunmen in the Iraqi capital. A
fifth Russian diplomat was killed in the attack.
(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2006)
