Hostage Pleads For Poland To Withdraw Troops
A Polish hostage being held by militants pleaded for her life in a video aired Saturday by Al-Jazeera television, asking Poland to remove its troops from Iraq.
Teresa Borcz Khalifa, a 54-year-old with dual Polish-Iraqi citizenship, was shown wearing a black top and sitting in front of a banner with the group's name, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Fundamentalist Brigades.
"Once again I call on you to help me, by saving my life,'' she said. "My life is in great danger. The one thing that will save my life is any response to the Iraqis' demands: by first getting the Polish troops out of Iraq and second, giving any help to release the female Iraqi prisoners from the various American prisons in Iraq.
On Thursday, Al-Jazeera television had aired a video by the extremists holding her captive, and demanding that Poland remove all its soldiers from Iraq.
Poland commands some 6,000 troops from 15 nations, including some 2,400 from Poland in central Iraq.