Three Hostages Taken in Iraq Story aired: Thursday, September 16, 2004
Two American civilians and a British citizen were abducted today at dawn from outside their upscale Baghdad home, the latest in a wave of kidnappings that brings the number of western hostages in Iraq to eight.
U.S. commanders are defending the use of force earlier this week, when U.S. forces fired machine guns and seven rockets into a crowded Baghdad street, killing 16 Iraqis. Army General Peter Chiarelli said U.S. soldiers and pilots were "clearly within their rights" firing into a crowd that had gathered around a burning armored vehicle.
More than 200 people have been killed in Iraq in the past four days.
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has expressed doubts about the feasibility of January elections in Iraq. He also said he believes the U.S.-led invasion was illegal.
