| Arab television broadcast videotape Sunday of two men taken hostage by militants, one described as a U.S. Marine lured from his base and the other a Pakistani driver for an American contractor. Insurgents threatened to behead them both. The U.S. military confirmed that a Marine had been missing from his unit for nearly a week. It said it was unclear if he had been taken hostage, but his name was on a Marine "active duty" identification card shown by militants in the videotape aired by the Al-Jazeera network. In the video, the hostage had a white blindfold covering his eyes. He wore military fatigues, and his mustache was trimmed. The U.S. military said he was of Lebanese descent, though the Al-Jazerra report said the hostage's origins were Pakistani. The kidnappers claimed to have infiltrated a Marine outpost, lured the Marine outside and abducted him. Al-Jazeera said the militants demanded the release of all Iraqis "in occupation jails" or the hostage would be killed. They identified themselves as part of "Islamic Response," the security wing of the "National Islamic Resistance -- 1920 Revolution Brigades." The name refers to the uprising against the British after World War I. The group, which has claimed responsibility for previous anti-American attacks, first surfaced in an Aug. 12 statement claiming the United States was hiding its casualty tolls in Iraq to help President Bush's election chances. |