Death threat against kidnapped Egyptian envoy

updated 5:03 p.m. ET July 6, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Kidnappers of Egypt’s top diplomat in Iraq threatened to kill him because Egypt has allied with “Jews and Christians,” according to a statement posted Wednesday on a Web site linked to al-Qaida in Iraq.

The group's religious court decided to hand over Ihab al-Sherif to its fighters “to carry out the punishment of apostasy against him,” the statement said. Under Islam, apostasy, or changing religion, is punishable by death. Its authenticity could not be independently verified.

The statement was ominous because al-Qaida in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has been responsible for beheading several foreign hostages, including American Nicholas Berg. Al-Zarqawi’s group also has claimed responsibility for numerous car-bombings in Iraq — many against Iraqi civilians.

Since al-Sherif, 51, was taken captive Saturday night, two more diplomats from Muslim countries have been ambushed in suspected kidnap attempts as part of what Iraqi officials say is an effort to sow a climate of fear and discourage Arab and Islamic countries from strengthening their ties to Iraq’s new government.

In Cairo, a senior Foreign Ministry official said the government was "in continuous contact" with the Iraqi government "and all other forces of the Iraqi society" in an effort to win al-Sherif's release.

Egypt's foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, spoke to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari by telephone, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity and without elaboration.

Proof that al-Qaida took the envoy
Earlier Wednesday, the same Web site posted pictures of the Egyptian envoy’s identification cards, saying it was proof that al-Qaida in Iraq had taken the envoy.

The pictures showed the front and back of five ID cards in al-Sherif's name. His Egyptian driver's license and a Foreign Ministry card showed his photograph.

Without mentioning Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak by name, the statement denounced "that idol of Egypt," saying he promotes U.S. interests in the Middle East and his "torture against Muslims is the harshest."

The statement linked al-Sherif's kidnapping to Egypt's announcement last month that it would be the first Arab government to upgrade its mission here to a full embassy headed by an ambassador.

The statement said Mubarak's "most recent work to support disbelief" was a decision "to accept the Shiite government of apostasy in Iraq" by sending an ambassador "upon the suggestion of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice."

Alleged al-Zarqawi audiotape
In an audiotape on the same Web site, a speaker said to be al-Zarqawi called Iraq's security forces as great an enemy as the Americans. The comments appeared aimed at discouraging insurgents from entering talks with the Iraqi government.

“Some say that the resistance is divided into two groups — an honorable resistance that fights the nonbeliever-occupier and a dishonorable resistance that fights Iraqis,” the speaker said. “We announce that the Iraqi army is an army of apostates and mercenaries that has allied itself with the Crusaders and came to destroy Islam and fight Muslims. We will fight it.”

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