Germans Kidnapped in Iraq

A German woman and her son who had lived in Iraq for years went missing approximately a week ago.

German authorities were alerted to the abduction after kidnappers contacted the missing man's sister, who lives in Berlin. She in turn contacted German authorities, the Berliner Zeitung reported Tuesday. The abductors have yet to make demands. It is unclear whether they want money, political concessions or both, according to the newspaper, which cited unnamed security sources.

Berlin daily Tagesspiegel said one victim is a German national in her 60s who lives in Baghdad and is married to an Iraqi doctor. The second victim is her adult son who is believed to work at the Iraqi foreign ministry, according to the paper. The identities of the victims have not been released.

The Tagesspiegel also reported that kidnappers had contacted family of the victims who live in Berlin and other parts of Germany. The kidnappers has not made demands, but threatened to kill the son, the Tagesspiegel reported.

The German foreign ministry won't say whether contact has been made with the kidnappers. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier confirmed Monday that two German nationals have been missing in Iraq for almost a week.

"We cannot rule out that it was a kidnapping by force," he told reporters at an EU meeting.

Motivation for kidnapping unclear

Berlin's Tagesspiegel newspaper reported that the family was considered wealthy by Iraqi standards and was probably victim to a targeted kidnapping.

Germany's NTV news channel said the crisis team set up by the German government was apparently working with mediators, but the foreign ministry declined to confirm that this was the case.

"We hope that everything works out well and we are doing everything in our power to ensure that the two Germans are returned safely to their families," Steinmeier said.

According to the German foreign ministry there are still about a hundred German nationals in Iraq, people working for German and international companies or diplomatic services. Germany has issued a security warning on travel to Iraq due to the unstable security environment there as Iraqi authorities are grappling with kidnappings and killings of foreigners.

Kidnappings of Germans not the first

Only about a year ago, two German technicians, Rene Bräunlich and Thomas Nitzschke, were released by their kidnappers after a three-month hostage ordeal. And in November 2005 Susanne Osthoff, a German archeologist working for an aid organization, was released after the German government allegedly paid a ransom to the tune of several million euros.

The German government has staunchly denied this saying that it doesn’t make deals with terrorists. The complete media ban in the current case, however, suggests that officials may already be working behind the scenes to try and establish a contact with the kidnappers.

The most urgent question is whether hostages are held by kidnappers seeking a ransom or by Islamic fundamentalists with a political motive. These terrorists aim to drive Western out of the Iraq and don't shy away from killing their victims to put their message across.