Japan sets up task force on hostage crisis in Iraq

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, April 09, 2004

Japan sets up task force on hostage crisis in Iraq

The Japanese government on Friday decided to set up a task force on the three Japanese civilians taken hostage in Iraq, Kyodo News reported.

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The Japanese government on Friday decided to set up a task force on the three Japanese civilians taken hostage in Iraq, Kyodo News reported.

The first meeting of the group, headed by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, will be held after the cabinet meeting Friday morning.

A terrorist-related group has taken captive three Japanese nationals in Iraq, demanding the withdrawal of Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) troops from Iraq as a condition for freeing the three and are threatening to kill them if the demand is not met within three days.

Qatar's Arabic news network Al-Jazeera aired video footage of the three Japanese, two men and a woman, blindfolded and sitting on the ground in front of gunmen in an unspecified indoor location.

In response, Fukuda said late Thursday night the government is studying rescue measures.

Source: Xinhua

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