Zarqawi Group Threatens To Behead Two Turkey-based Drivers In Iraq: T.V.

DOHA, July 31 (AFP) - The group of Al-Qaeda-linked operative Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi said Saturday it had kidnapped two drivers for a Turkish firm in Iraq and threatened to behead them in 48 hours if the company did not pull out of the country, Al-Jazeera TV said.
"Tawhid wal Jihad (Unification and Holy War group) in Iraq announced that it had abducted two drivers working for a Turkish firm which ferries goods to US forces in Iraq from Turkey," said Al-Jazeera, which aired footage of the two presumed captives.
Three hooded gunmen were seen in the video standing behind the pair with a banner carrying the group's name in the background.
In the video, the group named the two men as Abdul Rahman Demir and Said Anwar.
"The group gave the company, named Kahramanli, 48 hours to cease its activities in Iraq and stop ... supplying material to US forces, otherwise it will implement what it called Islamic sharia laws against the two drivers by beheading them," the Doha-based news channel said.
A Turkish diplomat in Baghdad told AFP he could not immediately confirm the latest reported abduction, which came amid an escalation of kidnappings in Iraq, mostly of truck drivers, by insurgents demanding that their employers pull out of the war-torn country.
"All Turkish hostages were released previously. This must be something new, if I am not wrong," the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "But I can confirm nothing at this stage."
Zarqawi, who has a 25-million-dollar US bounty on his head, has been accused by Washington of masterminding some of the deadliest bombings in Iraq.
His group has also claimed to have kidnapped and killed foreign hostages, in videotapes broadcast on Arab television stations including Al-Jazeera.