Kenneth Bigley can be released soon

Several snags including over a ransom have held up the handing over of &to= english.pravda.ru/world/2002/11/10/39301.html ' target=_blank>British hostage Kenneth Bigley to another group in Iraq, said an editor of a Kuwaiti newspaper, citing Iraq militant sources. But Jassim Boodai, editor-in-chief of leading daily al-Rai al-Aam, said Bigley could be handed over by his Iraq captors within one week to a new group, which would then free him. "The sources expect that the issue could be resolved within a week or 10 days, barring any unforeseen developments," Boodai told Reuters in an interview on Monday. Boodai's newspaper, quoting the same sources, last week predicted the release of two Italian hostages for a large ransom. The women were subsequently freed and returned to Italy. Al-Rai al-Aam said earlier this week that the same group that held the Italians was involved in talks for Bigley's release. It added Bigley's release may center on a ransom. However, Boodai on Monday quoted the sources close to Iraq Islamists as saying the Tawhid and Jihad faction holding Bigley has not handed him over yet to the other &to= english.pravda.ru/world/20/91/366/13456_Iraq.html ' target=_blank>Iraqi insurgent group. "As of tonight Bigley is still with the Zarqawi group," Boodai said, referring to al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who heads Tawhid and Jihad. "The group negotiating for his release has not gained custody of him yet, but the &to= english.pravda.ru/world/2003/03/15/44472.html ' target=_blank>negotiations have begun." Al-Rai al-Aam earlier this week reported that some religious leaders and mediators had pressured the second group to mediate with Tawhid and Jihad to find a solution to the Bigley saga. Bigley's brother Paul said earlier on Monday Bigley may have been handed over to a new group. He said he had also heard that those holding his brother would "like to negotiate a &to= english.pravda.ru/hotspots/2002/05/14/28711.html' target=_blank>financial settlemen." Bigley, a 62-year-old engineer, was seized 18 days ago with two Americans, both of whom were beheaded by Tawhid and Jihad, informs Reuters. According to VOANews, the brother of British Iraq hostage Ken Bigley says sources in Kuwait believe his sibling is being transferred by hard-line extremists to another group. Paul Bigley said in British radio interviews Monday that his sources tell him the new group is likely to demand a cash ransom, rather than make political demands. Mr. Bigley said he believes it will now be easier to obtain his brother's release. He said he "would much rather be dealing with people talking money than ones holding a government to ransom." The British government has cautioned that the reports of Ken Bigley's transfer, initially published in a Kuwaiti newspaper, are still unconfirmed. Ken Bigley was kidnapped last month with two American contractors by the Tawhid and Jihad group led by Jordanian-born terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The two Americans were beheaded soon after their abduction. On Saturday, a newspaper in Kuwait reported that an Iraqi militant group was prepared to enter negotiations for Ken Bigley's release. The same newspaper accurately predicted the release of two Italian aid workers last week. The British Embassy in Iraq said Monday it had no information about the reports that Bigley had been handed over to another group. "We have no information that could confirm that Ken Bigley was handed over to another group in Iraq," The Associated Press quoted embassy spokeswoman Victoria Whitford as saying. "We cannot confirm, we cannot corroborate. We want Ken Bigley to be released," she said. Paul Bigley also said he had asked the son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi for help in winning his brother's release. He said the Gadhafi Foundation in Libya had told him it would do everything it could to help win the hostage's freedom. Bigley said he recently called the Libyan leader's son, Saif Gadhafi, and "pleaded with him: 'Can you please pick up your phone and call your dad and ... help my brother to come home,' and he said he'd do all he could. Half an hour later, I got a call from ... the Gadhafi Foundation." The Unification and Jihad group, led by al Qaeda militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has claimed responsibility for kidnapping Bigley and two Americans on September 16. The Americans have been beheaded, and videos of the killings were posted on the Internet. Al-Zarqawi's group have demanded the release of all female Iraqi prisoners. However, the International Committee of the Red Cross has insisted that Britain did not hold any women prisoners in Iraq. Last week, an Arabic-language news channel broadcast video of Bigley caged behind bars. Bigley, originally from Liverpool, was working as a civil engineer in the Iraqi capital when he was kidnapped, reports CNN.

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