Multi-National Corps – Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20070723-12
July 23, 2007

Iraqi man arrested for part in kidnapping of sheikh
Multi-National Division – Center PAO

PATROL BASE SHANGHAI, Iraq — A suspected al Qaeda-allied terrorist was arrested July 18 in connection with the June kidnapping of two brothers, one of whom was a rival tribal sheikh.

The man was detained by Iraqi soldiers of the 4th Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and U.S. troops of the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) from Fort Drum, N.Y.

The kidnapped men escaped their captors June 23, and one of them ran to an Iraqi Army checkpoint pleading for help. The Iraqi soldiers took him to Patrol Base Shanghai, and a combined Iraqi-U.S. patrol drove to the orchard where the man had left his brother, the sheikh.

Both men bore signs of torture and said they had been kidnapped about two weeks before by al Qaeda-allied terrorists for refusing to cooperate with terrorist demands. They were treated for their wounds and were able to identify about 40 persons involved in their abduction.
 
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