Akihiko Saito

From Japan Today:

Iraq militant group says Saito died after being injured in shooting

Saturday, May 28, 2005 at 11:45 JST
CAIRO — The Ansar al-Sunnah Army has said Akihiko Saito, a Japanese security consultant who has been missing in Iraq since the Sunni militant group ambushed a convoy he was riding in earlier this month, died after being injured in a shooting.

The group has posted on its website an image of a man on his back covered in blood, whom it claims is Saito, along with an image of his passport.

The image was contained in a four-minute video message on the website. The message said Saito died from injuries after being shot many times, and a subtitle warned people against working with U.S. troops.

Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura told reporters after seeing the image that the Foreign Ministry could not tell whether it belongs to Saito.

Saito's employer, Hart Security Ltd, said Saturday it could not confirm the identity of the man shown in the video. Saito had worked in Iraq for the British security firm, based in Cyprus, since last December.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi asked his aides in the morning to gather information to determine if the image is Saito's, government officials said.

...The militant group said on May 9 that it had captured Saito, 44, after ambushing a convoy of 17 people, including him, near Hit, western Iraq, in early May.

For nearly three weeks, the Ansar al-Sunnah Army claimed they were holding Akihiko Saito hostage.

Now, they are saying he died of injuries from the ambush. Who knows what the truth is?

My heart breaks for Saito's loved ones. They still have no definitive answers. The uncertainty must be unbearable for them.

It sickens me that militant groups like the Ansar al-Sunnah Army prey on innocent civilians like Saito.

It also sickens me that the Arab world becomes outraged and violent over a "story" about the desecration of the Koran, but doesn't express similar outrage over the kidnapping and killing of human beings.

When was the last time you saw a demonstration in the Middle East to protest the kidnapping of an innocent, defenseless person by terrorists?

Never.