British troops start perilous Iraq mission, Japan defiant after kidnapping
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Hundreds of British soldiers left southern Iraq on a risky mission closer to Baghdad to free up US forces for a possible assault on rebel-held Fallujah, as Tokyo stood firm after militants threatened to behead ...
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BAGHDAD - British troops began rolling north to the Baghdad area Wednesday morning, a move that will free up American soldiers to tackle militant-controlled areas.
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TOKYO - Japan insisted yesterday it would not bow to the demands of militants in Iraq who threatened to behead a young Japanese unless Tokyo pulls its troops from the country within 48 hours.
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BAGHDAD: Hundreds of British soldiers left southern Iraq on a risky mission closer to Baghdad on Wednesday to free up US forces for a possible assault on rebel-held Fallujah, as Tokyo stood firm after militants threatened to behead a Japanese hostage.
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Gunmen in police uniforms kidnapped five Britons in Baghdad on Tuesday and the deaths of 10 U.S. soldiers were announced, making May the deadliest month for the U.S. military in more than two years.
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TOKYO - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi vowed on Sunday that Japanese troops would continue their domestically unpopular mission in Iraq after Islamic militants demanding a pullout killed a 24-year-old Japanese tourist.
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Japan won&#39;t yield to terrorism or withdraw its troops from Iraq, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said, in response to reports an Iraqi group kidnapped a Japanese man.
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A battle group of British troops began to roll out of southern Iraq Wednesday on a US-requested mission to deadlier areas near Baghdad in a major political gamble for British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
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British troops near the Iraqi city of Fallujah have launched a major operation to prevent Sunni insurgents from moving weapons and fighters around the area.
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The crisis is a political challenge for Koizumi, who decided to send Japanese troops to Iraq despite strong public opposition. &quot;We cannot tolerate terrorism and we will not give in to terrorism,&quot; Koizumi told reporters on Wednesday.
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Japan scrambled Wednesday to win the release a 24-year old Japanese man taken hostage by Islamic militants in Iraq, dispatching high level diplomats to the middle east and launching an appeal for his freedom on Arabic television.
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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi  insisted on 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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TOKYO Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (joon-ee-chee-roh koh-ee-zoo-mee) is refusing to meet kidnappers&#39; demands for Japanese troops to withdraw from Iraq.
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Blair says move driven by need to secure the area before Iraq&#39;s Jan. elections; critics say it is more about US elections in Nov. British troops currently deployed in central Iraq are likely &quot;heading for an
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About 850 British troops in Iraq are moving north toward Baghdad from the city of Basra. The arrival of the British troops appears to further indicate an impending major ground assault west of Baghdad.
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British Army soldiers from the 1st Battalion, Duke of Wellington Regiment, move toward the center of Basra, southern Iraq, Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2004, during clashes with armed gunmen.
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A battle group of British troops in southern Iraq started to move northwards on a US-requested mission to more dangerous areas nearer Baghdad, an AFP reporter said.