Turkey rejects Iraq rebels146; demand

Turkey rejected on Sunday the demands of militants threatening to behead three Turks held hostage in Iraq during US President George W. Bush...

Turkey rejected on Sunday the demands of militants threatening to behead three Turks held hostage in Iraq during US President George W. Bush8217;s visit to Istanbul for a NATO summit.

Militants loyal to suspected Al Qaeda ally Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi said in a statement aired on Al Jazeera TV on Saturday that the three hostages would be executed within 72 hours unless Turks stopped working with US-led forces in Iraq. 8216;8216;Turkey has been fighting terrorist activity for more than 20 years,8217;8217; Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul said. 8216;8216;They ask many things, they demand many things. We never consider them with seriousness.8217;8217;

Jazeera showed footage of the three hostages crouching in front of masked gunmen and holding up their passports. The threat to kill the three Turks cast a shadow over Bush8217;s visit to Turkey.

White House National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack said the threat to kill the hostages was 8216;8216;a reminder of the barbaric nature of these terrorists8217;8217;. The kidnappers8217; 72-hour deadline ends during a NATO summit in Istanbul on Monday. Washington has offered 10 million for Zarqawi8217;s arrest.

An unidentified group of gunmen in Iraq have kidnapped a Pakistani driver and threatened to behead him within three days unless Iraqi prisoners are released, Al Arabiya TV reported. 8216;8216;This man was taken after an attack on a US base in Balad,8217;8217; said a masked gunman on a tape Al Arabiya said it had obtained. 8216;8216;You must release our prisoners held near the US base in Balad, Yathrib, Samarra and near Abu Ghraib. You have three days from the date of this recording and after that we will behead him. We have warned you.8217;8217;

On Sunday a US C-130 aircraft was hit by small arms fire after takeoff from Baghdad airport. One person was wounded and later died. Several explosions also rang out in Baghdad as guerrillas fired rockets or mortars at the 8216;8216;Green Zone8217;8217; compound.

On Saturday evening, two car bombs were detonated in a busy street in Hilla, a town 100 kms south of Baghdad. The US military said the latest casualty reports showed 23 Iraqis were killed and 58 wounded.

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Meanwhile, a criminal court on Sunday sentenced a Kuwaiti to 15 years in prison for attempting to kill 21 US soldiers and scores of Asian workers last year, his lawyer said. 8212; Reuters

8216;Harsh interrogation on hold8217;

WASHINGTON: The CIA has suspended the use of extraordinary interrogation techniques approved by the White House pending a review by Justice Department and other administration lawyers, intelligence officials said. The 8216;8216;enhanced interrogation techniques,8217;8217; as the CIA calls them, include feigned drowning and refusal of medication. The tactics have been used to elicit intelligence from Al Qaeda leaders such as Abu Zubaida. Current and former CIA officers said the suspension reflects the CIA8217;s fears of being accused of unsanctioned and illegal activities. 8216;8216;Everything8217;s on hold,8217;8217; said a former CIA official. 8220;It has been stopped until we sort out if we are sure we8217;re on legal ground.8217;8217; A CIA spokesman declined to comment. 8212; LAT-WP