Iraqi Official Calls for Release of Women Prisoners

An Iraqi government official today urged the US military to release women prisoners but denied the plea was part of attempts to free a kidnapped journalist.

The Human Rights Ministry called for the release of six of the eight Iraqi women being held in military custody after a government commission reviewing detainee cases reported that there was insufficient evidence against them.

Militants holding Jill Carroll, a 28-year-old American freelance reporter for the Christian Science Monitor who was kidnapped in Baghdad nearly two weeks ago, have demanded that the US authorities release all Iraqi female detainees.

An official from the Human Rights Ministry - which sits on the commission along with representatives of the defence and justice ministries - said the call had not been made in response to the kidnappers' demands. The abductors gave authorities until tomorrow night to free the inmates.

"There was no outside pressure on the commission" to release the women, the official said, adding: "This recommendation came after we studied the women's files provided by the American military, and we recommended their release." US officials yesterday refused to comment on whether any of the women would be released.

Ms Carroll was seen for the first time since her abduction on Tuesday in footage aired by the al-Jazeera television channel. The 20-second video included a threat to kill Ms Carroll in 72 hours unless US authorities released all women detainees in Iraq.

A still photograph of Ms Carroll from the videotape on al-Jazeera's website carried a logo reading The Revenge Brigade - an unknown group.

Insurgents in Iraq, mainly Sunni Arab militants, have kidnapped more than 240 foreigners and killed at least 39 of them. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, more Iraqis have been abducted, either by insurgents or by gangs seeking ransoms.

The fate of two engineers, believed to be Kenyans working for the Iraqi cell phone company Iraqna, was still unknown after they went missing. They were feared to have been kidnapped when their security convoy was ambushed in Baghdad yesterday.

An official from a prominent Sunni political organisation thought to have ties to some insurgent groups called for Ms Carroll's release, but claimed his group had not heard of the militants holding her and was not part of efforts to free her.

"We condemn the abduction of journalists, who are means to conveying the truth to people," Muthana Harith al-Dhari, a spokesman for the Association of Muslim Scholars, said.

The French journalist and former hostage Florence Aubenas, who was released in June after being held for 157 days, called on the Ms Carroll's kidnappers to release her.

"She came to this country to do her job as a journalist, and not anything else," Ms Aubenas told al-Jazeera.

The US president, George Bush, yesterday ignored shouted questions about what his administration was doing to find Ms Carroll. The White House spokesman Scott McClellan said her safe return was a priority for the administration.

The British peace activist Norman Kember is among the foreign hostages currently being held in Iraq. He was snatched along with three others on November 26.

Meanwhile, a British soldier was slightly wounded by a roadside bomb in the southern city of Basra today, the military said.

The soldier was hurt at around 8am (0500 GMT) in the blast while on patrol in the city. There was a second blast in the same area around two hours later, but no injuries were reported.