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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, April 23, 2003

Colombia Identifies Three US Hostages Held by FARC

The Colombian Attorney General's office disclosed on Tuesday the identity of three United States citizens kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) two month ago, following a plane crash in southern Colombia.


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The Colombian Attorney General's office disclosed on Tuesday the identity of three United States citizens kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) two month ago, following a plane crash in southern Colombia.

The FARC held as hostages Keith Stansell, Marco Gonzalves and Thomas Howes on Feb. 13, said a statement released by the office.

The FARC, Colombia's largest rebel group, considers the three US citizens "prisoners of war" and puts them on a list of hostagesto be exchanged for imprisoned guerrillas with the Colombian government, it was revealed.

The US citizens were on an intelligence mission in Caqueta state in the south of the country, when their light aircraft crashed in a jungle area, the FARC has alleged.

The pilot, a Colombian army non-commissioned officer, and another US citizen were found shot dead near the crash site.

Scores of soldiers, police agents and politicians are taken hostage by the FARC, including Antioquia governor Guillermo Gaviria, his peace adviser Gilberto Echeverry and nearly 20 political personalities.

The hostages taken from the crashed plane reportedly work for the firm California Microwave Systems, a branch of Northrop Grumman, which provides surveillance systems for the US army.

Many contractors in the service of Washington work in Colombia.Their task is providing advice to Colombian authorities in the fight against drug production and trafficking in areas under control of guerrillas.

Since the kidnapping, the local armed forces have deployed an extensive search and rescue operation in the southern Colombian jungles.


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