BAGHDAD, April 14 (UPI) -- A senior cleric in Iraq has called for the release of three Japanese civilians being held hostage, and issued an assurance they are still alive.
Haarith al-Thari, chairman of the Islamic Clerics Association told Japan's Kyodo news service the group has not been freed because the hostage-takers are worried about their own safety.
"I would like to affirm and assure their families that they are still alive," al-Thari said.
The kidnappers, who call themselves Mujahideen Brigades reportedly took the hostages April 6 for political purposes and not for money, the report said.
"The kidnappers are afraid that they will be discovered and captured when they release the hostages," al-Thari said. "Maybe they are thinking about the best way to deliver the hostages to a safer place without being arrested."
