Jailed cleric refuses release for hostages
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A jailed Indonesian cleric refused to be freed in exchange for two hostages held in Iraq, claiming that kidnapping and holding fellow Muslims is not permitted in Islam.
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan  -- The head of a radical mosque besieged by government forces in the heart of Pakistan's capital rejected calls for an unconditional surrender Friday, saying he and his die-hard followers were ready for martyrdom.
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Britain ruled out negotiations with the abductors of a British hostage in Iraq on Thursday after a desperate plea for help from the hostage.
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A cleric holed up in a Pakistani mosque said on Friday he and hundreds of followers were willing to surrender, but set conditions authorities rejected after three days of violence in which 19 people have died.
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A radical cleric seized by security forces in Pakistan on Thursday urged armed militants still holed up inside a mosque besieged by government troops to end a two-day standoff.
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Palestinian group believed to be holding BBC journalist denies any deal for his release.
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A radical cleric prepared to hand control of a shrine at the heart of a Shi'ite uprising in Iraq to religious authorities on Friday, but still rejected demands by the interim prime minister to disband his militia.
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NAJAF, Iraq  - Iraq's radical cleric Moqtada  al-Sadr refused on Tuesday to meet a delegation of Iraqi  political and religious leaders seeking to end a rebellion in  the holy city of Najaf and other parts of the country.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq - Authorities insisted on Thursday that they won't give in to militants' demands to free female Iraqi prisoners despite the plea of a tearful British hostage begging Britain to save his life in a video released by his captors.    Meanwhile, Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said that increasing violence must not be used as a pretext for delaying elections scheduled for late January...
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BAGHDAD, Sept. 23. - Authorities insisted they wonât give in to militantsâ demands to free women Iraqi prisoners despite the broadcast of a videotape that showed a tearful British hostage begging Britain to save his life.
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A PAKISTANI militant leader linked to al-Qaeda said today he refused to meet a council of tribal elders trying to secure the release of two Chinese hostages held by his group.
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&gt; BAGHDAD, Iraq - Authorities insisted on Thursday that they won&#39;t give in to militants&#39; demands to free female Iraqi prisoners despite the plea of a tearful British hostage
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The US says it will not free a top female Iraqi prisoner as militants threaten to kill a British man.
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Britain has refused a visa to prominent  Muslim cleric Youssef al-Qaradawi, accusing him of justifying  terrorism.
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NAJAF, Iraq  - Iraq&#39;s radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr refused on Tuesday to meet a delegation of Iraqi political and religious leaders who want him to call off his uprising in the holy city of Najaf and other areas.
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Relatives pleaded Monday for the release of two Americans and a Briton held hostage as a deadline loomed for their beheading. In Baghdad, gunmen assassinated two clerics from a powerful Sunni Muslim group opposed to the US presence in Iraq.
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The British and Iraqi governments said  Thursday they would not bow to the demands of militants  threatening to kill a British hostage, despite a video message  from the captive pleading for his life.