Mystery Journalist (unless you read DL, that is) still kidnapped.

After the safe release of his interpreter last week, so called "technical hitches" are delaying his release. One can only wonder what that means! We sincerely hope that more accurate and truthful information will be forthcoming. Barring that, we continue to pray for his safe release.


"Technical hitches" have delayed the release of a British journalist kidnapped in Iraq's southern city of Basra, a Shiite militia negotiating the release said on Saturday.

"The negotiations are continuing with the kidnappers. We hope to resolve the crisis as soon as possible," said Harith al-Adhari, director of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's office in Basra.

"Technical problems have delayed the release of the British journalist," Adhari told AFP. "We thought the release would take place on Thursday, but because of these technical problems this did not happen. We will continue to negotiate until we find a solution as quickly as possible."

The British journalist and his Iraqi interpreter, whose names have not been officially released, were kidnapped from Basra's Palace Sultan hotel on Sunday by 10 armed and masked men.

Sadr's office said on Wednesday it had struck a deal with the kidnappers, who had agreed to release the pair.

Later that day the interpreter was freed and whisked away by police to be debriefed.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders quoted Walid al-Khuzaiy, another member of the Sadr movement in Basra, as saying that Sadrists want to protect journalists "because they are key witnesses of what is happening in the country.

"The armed groups responsible for kidnapping journalists are mainly doing it for money, even if some of them try to justify their actions by giving political or religious reasons," Khuzaiy added.

Reporters Without Borders said that last year 25 journalists and media assistants were kidnapped in Iraq and that a total of 208 have been killed in connection with their work since the start of the US-led invasion in 2003.

Britain's Press Association said the abducted Briton had covered the fall of Baghdad in 2003 and worked for titles including the Sunday Telegraph, the New York Times and Financial Times.

It quoted the hostage's wife as saying: "It is still early days. We are just praying for him to be safe."

CBS had said in a statement that two of its media workers had gone missing in Basra but gave few other details, wanting to protect their identities.

Oil-rich Basra province was handed over to Iraqi control in mid-December by British forces, who are now based at a nearby airport.

The province has been the scene of fierce turf wars between Sadr's Mahdi Army fighters and the rival Badr Brigades Shiite militia of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council led by Abdel Aziz al-Hakim.