Powell: Iraq abductions could deter nations
NATO team to work on 'urgent basis'
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell Friday acknowledged the rash of kidnappings throughout Iraq could deter countries from participating in Iraq's reconstruction and security.
Powell made an unannounced visit to Iraq, arriving in Baghdad after stopping in Saudi Arabia, which has suggested a plan to send Muslim troops to Iraq. (Full story)
He met with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq John Negroponte, President Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawar, U.S. generals and several high-ranking Iraqi officials.
Appearing before reporters with Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, Powell was asked about the fate of an Indian hostage, whom militants have reportedly threatened to kill Friday if their demands are not met.
Powell said he does not have "specific information" about that man.
The Indian government said it hoped all three of its citizens employed by a Kuwait company and taken hostage in Iraq would soon be freed.
"We have seen reports that the hostage-takers have extended the deadline. The government would welcome an authentic confirmation of the news. We are in touch with our embassies in Baghdad and Kuwait in this regard," said a statement released Friday.
Powell said, "These kinds of violent actions do have a deterring effect" to nations providing troops.
"These are criminals, these are murderers, these are terrorists who are killing innocent people who have come to Iraq," Powell said, describing the insurgents who have resorted to kidnapping.
Powell said more must be done to protect private contractors who have been snatched up weekly, but Iraqi and the multinational forces "cannot allow this tactic to stop us from moving forward."
Abductions escalated after the Philippines recently bowed to hostage-taker demands in order to win release of a trucker.
In a reference to the Philippines, Powell said said that while some coalition partners "have found it necessary" to remove troops, most accept and understand their role.
Salih added that last week "a major band" involved with kidnapping had been arrested by Interior Ministry officers and that security agencies are working hard to respond.
"There are a number of elements involved with hostage-taking," Salih said, citing organized crime as well as terrorists.
NATO team to work with Iraqis on 'urgent basis'
NATO countries have agreed to send a military team to Iraq to train Iraqi security forces, the alliance's Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Friday.
In a statement, de Hoop Scheffer said the team will work with the Iraqi interim government and the U.S.-led coalition "on an urgent basis." The team will report to NATO by September 15, de Hoop Scheffer said.
The announcement followed disagreements between the U.S. and France over whether any NATO force in Iraq should come under the command of the U.S.-led coalition.
De Hoop Scheffer's statement that the team will report to NATO officials in mid-September indicated command issues would be decided after that report.
The NATO team will start immediately training "selected Iraqi headquarters personnel" the statement said.
"NATO will also start training, beginning in August, selected Iraqi personnel outside of Iraq, and develop a role in co-coordinating national offers of equipment and training," he added in the statement.
Pause on the road to elections
Meanwhile, Powell called the postponement of a three-day national conference designed to help Iraq build a democratic government a "two week slip" and said it was the right thing to hold off so the event proceeds properly.
The conference was to begin Saturday in Baghdad to choose a 100-person interim body that will advise and oversee the newly installed interim government.
The United Nations requested the delay and advises that more work is needed to put the finishing touches on the event. Government officials cited technical reasons.
But citizens have spoken more bluntly about the reasons for the delay.
Many people thought the process was rushed, disorganized and unfair. Some didn't like the process for choosing delegates and said delegates have been harassed.
As for the planned elections to be held no later than January, Powell said he has "nothing to suggest that the date can't be met."
Other developments
A sermon delivered in Baghdad Friday by a spokesman for Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr supported Arab troops in Iraq -- as long as U.S. troops are gone. Al-Sadr is the firebrand cleric whose forces battled U.S. soldiers for months in southern Iraq and Baghdad. American military forces unleashed artillery, tank, and air fire in heavy overnight fighting with insurgents in Falluja, a U.S. military spokesman said Friday. Dr. Mohammed Asma'ail from a Falluja hospital said 13 Iraqis were killed and 14 were wounded during the clashes. Most of the dead and wounded were men. There were no U.S. casualties.Iraq's human rights minister Friday said captured Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is in "good shape" and shows no signs of serious illness despite some nagging health issues -- such as high blood pressure, a prostate infection, a hernia and a bout with weight loss.CNN's Matthew Chance, John Vause, Alphonso Van Marsh, Elise Labott and Andrea Koppel contributed to this report.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
