Italian Officials Dispute Reports of Ransom
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Italy&#39;s government dismissed reports Wednesday that it paid $1 million to free two Italian aid workers who were kidnapped in Iraq and held for three weeks before being released Tuesday.
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Many Koreans, while relieved, express concerns about charges that a ransom was paid.
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ROME  - The Italian government said Thursday that it doubted the authenticity of a second claim that two female aid workers had been killed in Iraq, but that it was still checking the report.
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Culture, etc. The Bush administration yesterday gave Italy the benefit of the doubt amid reports that Rome had paid a terrorist group in Iraq a $1 million ransom to secure the release of two Italian hostages.
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Captors of two Italian hostages in Iraq  have agreed to free the women, as early as this week, for a $1  million ransom, a Kuwaiti daily said on Tuesday in a report  splashed over the front pages of Italian newspapers.
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Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini met Emirati officials as part of continued efforts to secure the release of two women hostages threatened with execution in Iraq.
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ROME - Italy insisted on Wednesday it did not pay a million-dollar ransom to win the release of two aid workers, as the country rejoiced in the homecoming of the women who said they were ready to return to Iraq to continue their work there.
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Iraq's interim president expressed doubts Friday over a claim of responsibility by a previously unknown militant group for the kidnapping of two Italian aid workers in Baghdad, the Italian government said.
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Kuwaiti and Italian officials on Monday urged the release of two Italian female hostages kidnapped earlier in Baghdad, the Kuwait News Agency reported.
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Experts on Islamic militant groups are skeptical about a Web posting demanding &#36;5 million in ransom for two French journalists held hostage in Iraq, France's prime minister said Monday.
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The Italian Foreign Ministry said on  Wednesday it was investigating a claim by an Iraqi photographer  who said militants showed him the body of a man together with  an Italian passport.
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The Italian government said Thursday that the claims that two Italian female aid workers held hostage in Iraq had been killed were unreliable.
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ROME -- Italian politicians pledged yesterday to put aside their differences over the Iraq war and work together to free two female aid workers abducted in Baghdad, the third time Italian citizens have been taken hostage in Iraq over the past six months.
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PARIS Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin of France said Sunday that he was unable to confirm the authenticity of a statement attributed to a militant group called the Islamic Army in Iraq that said it was releasing two French hostages, on condition
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The safe release of two Italian aid workers held hostage in Iraq led to questions Wednesday over whether a ransom was paid, highlighting the dilemma of many governments if the price of saving lives means caving in to terrorists.
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Visiting Italian Foreign Minister made a fresh call here Monday on kidnappers of the two Italian hostages and other nationals held in Iraq to let them go, the Kuwait News Agency reported.
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The Italian government has urged caution on reports that two Italian women being held captive in Iraq have been killed, saying the claims are &quot;unreliable&quot; and part of a terrorism campaign being carried out through the media.