Iraqi militants are threatening to kill three Japanese hostages unless Tokyo withdraws its troops within three days.
The three civilians were snatched by a group called the Mujahideen Brigades and Arab al-Jazeera TV showed them being held at knife-point.
The pictures were designed to shock
Elsewhere, one Canadian and two Arabs were also kidnapped, but seven abducted South Koreans were released.
Our Baghdad correspondent says this is the first use of kidnappings for political ends in the conflict.
The gunmen holding the Japanese say they will burn their captives alive unless Japanese troops are withdrawn from Iraq.
The three are believed to be Noriaki Imai, an 18-year-old male volunteer worker, Nahoko Takato, 34, a female volunteer worker, and Soichiro Koriyama, a 32-year-old male freelance photojournalist.
Mujahideen Brigades’ statement
Tokyo has said it is firm in its resolve to keep troops in Iraq despite the threat.
It is not clear whether any of the kidnap incidents are connected. Concern is also growing about the whereabouts of a British civilian who disappeared in the southern town of Nasiriya on Tuesday. The BBC’s Barbara Plett in Baghdad said the abductions were an alarming development for America’s coalition partners, already worried by the unprecedented violence that hit Iraq this week. (From the BBC, 08 April 2004)