Ransom payments seen fuelling Iraq&#39;s hostage crisis
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The release of two Italian aid workers in Iraq has raised hopes other hostages may soon be freed, but reports that a large ransom was paid may only feed the burgeoning hostage crisis.
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Several snags including over a ransom  have held up the handing over of British hostage Kenneth Bigley  to another group in Iraq, said an editor of a Kuwaiti  newspaper, citing Iraq militant sources.
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A Kuwaiti transport company said it had paid a ransom of more than &#36;500,000 to an Iraqi militant group for the release of seven drivers freed on Wednesday after 43 days captivity.
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Besides hostage-takings by insurgent groups, many criminal gangs in Iraq have been kidnapping people for ransom.
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Bus hijackers tonight set a Thursday morning deadline for Greek authorities to deliver a ransom of Â£740,000, threatening to blow up the vehicle and six remaining hostages if they did not receive the money.
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Several snags including over a ransom have held up the handing over of British hostage Kenneth Bigley to another group in Iraq, said an editor of a Kuwaiti newspaper, citing Iraq militant sources.
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UK hostage Kenneth Bigley, who&#39;s been held in Iraq since Sept. 16, has been handed over to a new group who may want a ransom in return for his freedom, Bigley&#39;s brother Paul said in an interview on Sky News.
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A statement posted on a Web site  purportedly by an Iraqi group which said it was holding two  French hostages set a $5 million ransom on Monday and issued a  48-hour deadline for its demands to be met.
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DUBAI, SEPTEMBER 6: An Iraqi group purportedly holding two French journalists hostage demanded a $5 million ransom on Monday and set a 48-hour deadline for their demands to be met.
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Many Koreans, while relieved, express concerns about charges that a ransom was paid.
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National joy in Italy at the safe return  of two aid workers held hostage in Iraq for three weeks gave  way in some quarters on Wednesday to concern that Rome had paid  a big ransom for the women's freedom.
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The Philippine government strongly hinted Friday it would approve the payment of ransoms to win the freedom of 26 Filipino hostages missing or kidnapped in Nigeria.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq - A weeping British hostage was shown pleading for help between the bars of a makeshift cage in a video that surfaced Wednesday, a sobering reminder of the grim reality for at least 18 foreign captives still held by Iraqi militants.    There is wide speculation that ransoms were paid for the freedom of a dozen hostages, including two Italian aid workers...
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Experts on Islamic militant groups are skeptical about a Web posting demanding $5 million in ransom for two French journalists held hostage in Iraq, France&#39;s prime minister said Monday.
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Iraqi militants holding two French journalists have reportedly set a 48-hour deadline for their new demands to be met, including payment of a five-million-dollar ransom.
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The US and British embassies in Iraq pressed ahead with efforts to free a Briton and two US citizens kidnapped at gunpoint from their home in Baghdad this week.
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A seven-year-old Lebanese boy has been kidnapped on his way home from school in Iraq by militants demanding a $US150,000 ($A203,693) ransom for his release, Lebanese officials said today.