Iraq Group Takes Japanese Hostage; Troops to Stay
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A group led by al Qaeda ally Abu Musab  al-Zarqawi threatened to behead a Japanese hostage in Iraq  unless Japan withdrew its troops, but Prime Minister Junichiro  Koizumi said on Wednesday that Japan's contingent would stay.
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A Japanese hostage taken in Iraq has been  killed, Kyodo news agency said on Saturday, citing information  obtained by the Japanese government.
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Japan sought international and Iraqi help for a Japanese man held hostage in Iraq on Thursday, less than 24 hours before a deadline set by his captors to behead him unless Japan withdraws its troops.
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Japan refused to give up hope that a  Japanese man taken hostage in Iraq was still alive on Friday  after the passing of a deadline set by his captors to behead  him unless Tokyo withdrew its troops.
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Japan's prime minister insisted Wednesday  that Japan would not withdraw its troops from Iraq despite a  threat by a militant group to behead a Japanese hostage unless  Tokyo pulled them out.
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A decapitated body found in Iraq was identified Sunday as a Japanese backpacker taken hostage by Islamic militants, but Tokyo insisted it would not cut short its dispatch of troops there and vowed to combat terrorism.
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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has said Japan will not pull its troops out of Iraq despite threats by a group led by an al Qaeda ally to behead a Japanese hostage, Japanese media reported on Wednesday.
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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday Japanese troops would not pull out of Iraq, rejecting a demand by Islamic militants claiming to have taken a Japanese hostage.
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A militant group in Iraq claims to be holding a Japanese citizen and gives Tokyo 48 hours to withdraw troops.
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DUBAI : The Islamic militant group of Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi said in a video shown on the Internet it had taken a Japanese citizen hostage in Iraq and threatened to execute him if Tokyo does not withdraw its troops from Iraq in 48 hours.
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Japan sought international help on  Thursday for a Japanese man held hostage in Iraq, with less  than 24 hours to go for a deadline set by his captors to behead  him unless Tokyo withdraws its troops.
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Efforts to rescue a Japanese hostage in Iraq continued Wednesday with a call from Japan&#39;s foreign minister on the abductors to free the young man while the British hostage in
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Japanese leaders struggled on Thursday to make contact with Islamic militants in Iraq who took a Japanese traveler hostage as the 48-hour deadline approached for the young man's threatened beheading. Tokyo stood firm in its refusal to meet the kidnappers' demand to withdraw troops from Iraq.
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Japan Wednesday refused to withdraw its forces from Iraq despite the threat by Islamic militants to execute a Japanese hostage if the troops remain.
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Japan's government said it was trying to confirm news reports that the Islamic militant group of Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi had taken a Japanese citizen hostage in Iraq and threatened to behead him.
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Japan said no member of its military  stationed in Iraq is missing, after a group led by al Qaeda  ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi threatened to behead a Japanese  hostage in Iraq if Tokyo did not withdraw its forces from the  country.
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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has said  Japan will not pull its troops out of Iraq despite threats by a  group led by an al Qaeda ally to behead a Japanese hostage,  Japanese media reported on Wednesday.