Mother of German hostage in Iraq pleads for her release

BERLIN – The mother of Susanne Osthoff, the German woman being held hostage in Iraq, yesterday issued an emotional plea for her release after the government said it had failed to make contact with the kidnappers.

“My daughter is more Iraqi than German. Speak to her.Get to know Susanne.Then you will learn quickly that she only wanted to do one thing in Iraq, and that is to help the people there,” Ingrid Hala said in her plea published in the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung.She also urged the kidnappers to make contact with the German authorities.Osthoff, 43, is a trained archeologist who has been doing aid work in Iraq for several years and a convert to Islam.She married an Arab and speaks fluent Arabic.The German foreign ministry yesterday said it was trying everything possible to make contact with the group that took Osthoff and her driver hostage near Ninive in northwestern Iraq on November 25.Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday conceded that her government had no information about the fate of Osthoff, the first German national to be kidnapped in Iraq.- Nampa-AFPSpeak to her.Get to know Susanne.Then you will learn quickly that she only wanted to do one thing in Iraq, and that is to help the people there,” Ingrid Hala said in her plea published in the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung.She also urged the kidnappers to make contact with the German authorities.Osthoff, 43, is a trained archeologist who has been doing aid work in Iraq for several years and a convert to Islam.She married an Arab and speaks fluent Arabic.The German foreign ministry yesterday said it was trying everything possible to make contact with the group that took Osthoff and her driver hostage near Ninive in northwestern Iraq on November 25.Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday conceded that her government had no information about the fate of Osthoff, the first German national to be kidnapped in Iraq.- Nampa-AFP