Reply #33: according to the statement

[ktranz]

they found out that the 3 japaneses were actually helping Iraqis, not spies.

----http://japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=294674

The militant group also released a statement to Al-Jazeera on its decision to free the hostages. The group says:

— It will free the Japanese hostages in 24 hours in response to a call from the Islamic Clerics Committee for an immediate release.

— It has confirmed through its own sources that the three have not been cooperating with the occupation forces and were helping Iraqi citizens.

— It made the decision also out of consideration for the pain of the hostages' families and in respect of the Japanese public's stance toward the issue.

— It wants the Japanese public to pressure the Japanese government to withdraw its troops from Iraq because the dispatch is illegal.

— Japanese politicians do not represent the Japanese public but instead are agents for the criminals U.S. President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

— The U.S. injured Japanese people by dropping nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The same thing is happening in Fallujah.

— It is not considering targeting foreign citizens.

— The holy war will continue until victory.