French hostage release held up, cleric calls for freedom
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Unexpected difficulties appeared to have stalled the hoped-for release of two French journalists in Iraq, with a girlfriend of one of the hostages blaming the precarious security situation for the delay.
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A senior French official called here for patience and discretion as efforts continued to secure the release of two French journalists held hostage in Iraq.
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Two French journalists have been taken hostage in Iraq by Islamic militants demanding the rescission of a ban on the Islamic headscarf in French schools, the Arabic satellite news channel Al-Jazeera reported.
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Jordan pledged Tuesday to help France secure the release of two journalists held hostage in Iraq, who are facing the imminent expiry of an ultimatum by their Islamic kidnappers.
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France's government and leaders of its Muslim minority urged Iraqi militants Sunday to free two French journalists they were holding hostage in a bid to force Paris to revoke its ban on Muslim headscarves in schools.
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France&#39;s foreign minister appealed today for the release of two French journalists abducted in Baghdad, saying the French respect all religions.
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Two French journalists taken hostage in Iraq are believed to be alive and safe, France&#39;s defence minister has said. But Sunni Muslim clerics in Iraq say efforts to free them are being hampered by the escalation of security operations led by US forces.
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A leading radical Iraqi cleric issued a fatwa (Islamic decree) demanding the immediate release of two French reporters held hostage for more than two weeks.
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France's foreign minister appealed Monday for the release of two French journalists abducted in Baghdad, saying he was in the Middle East to explain that his nation respects all religions and that he was not ...
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France has vowed not to give in to the demands of terrorists who are holding two French journalists in Iraq. Militants calling themselves the Islamic Army in Iraq have said that they will release Georges Malbrunot
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Kidnappers holding two Indonesian women hostages in Iraq are demanding the release of a militant cleric accused of leading a terrorist group in Southeast Asia.
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France pressed on with efforts to save  two French journalists held hostage in Iraq on Thursday after a  deadline to rescind a law banning Muslim headscarves in state  schools passed without word from the kidnappers.
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France will not revoke a law banning Muslim head scarves in public schools despite demands by a militant Islamic group holding two French journalists hostage in Iraq, the government spokesman said Monday.
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Signs suggest hope for a possible release of the two French journalists held hostage in Iraq, Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin said Saturday.
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A French Muslim delegation in Iraq said Thursday they had proof that two French hostages held by Islamic militants were alive, even though France refused to lift a ban on Muslim headscarves as the school year ...
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BAGHDAD, 30 August 2004 - Muslim leaders in Iraq and France yesterday appealed for the release of two kidnapped French journalists facing death.
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The French government prepared for crisis talks Tuesday to save the lives of two journalists held hostage in Iraq, while aides to rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for the release of the reporters as a ...