Abduction of Bert Nussbaumer

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The kidnapping of Bert Nussbaumer occurred in November 2006 when the Austrian citizen, along with four Americans in Iraq was kidnapped. The ex-soldier was employed by a US private security and military company based in Kuwait . In March 2008, the FBI announced the death of Bert Nussbaumer after his body was found and identified.

Life

Bert Nussbaumer was born on July 29, 1981 in Altmünster , Upper Austria . He was a regular soldier in the Jagdkommando , an elite unit of Austria's armed forces , in Wiener Neustadt . He later hired the private US security company Crescent Security Group to allegedly accompany aid transports and provide personal protection as a mercenary in Iraq . A football colleague and long-time acquaintance of Bert Nussbaumer told the APA news agency in Gmunden that he drove to Iraq on his own in July 2006, but didn't get a job there . Eventually he got the job with the security company. He only started work there six weeks before his abduction. He was well aware of the risk.

Kidnapping in Iraq

Procrastination

On November 16, 2006, a food convoy of 43 vehicles, which was supposed to drive from Kuwait to Nasiriya , was stopped at a false police barrier near the southern Iraqi city of Safwan on the border with Kuwait and was ambushed by armed men. 19 trucks were hijacked and 14 employees were taken hostage. Nine Iraqi employees of the company were later released. Bert Nussbaumer and his four American colleagues Jonathan Cote, Joshua Munns, Paul Reuben and John Young were abducted. The group "National Islamic Resistance in Iraq - Furqan Brigades" claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. She called for the liberation of all British and US Army prisoners in Iraq.

The next day, the governor of Basra, Mohammed el Waili, announced that two of the five hostages were free. This report later turned out to be false. According to a television report, Bert Nussbaumer was killed in an attempt to rescue him and his body was found in the desert near Al-Subair. After identification, it turned out to be a mistake. The Iraqi police said they had arrested a suspect on December 6, 2006, said the head of the secret police in Basra, Ali Hammadi Mousavi, to ORF . But he knew too little.

On November 19, 2006, the Iran- operated Arab satellite channel Al Alam broadcast a video of a group that had claimed to have Bert Nussbaumer and four Americans under their control. In the video, a man was seen covering his face with a headscarf .

Signs of life

A video was recorded by Bert Nussbaumer and the four Americans, which was dated December 21, 2006. This showed the hostages sitting on the floor in a room. He said in English with a recognizable Austrian accent : “My name is Bert Nussbaumer. I am an Austrian citizen. I work in the private security business for Crescent Security in Iraq. ” The video was released on January 3, 2007.

On December 29, 2006, the California newspaper "The Tribune" posted audio messages from the five hostages on the Internet. As the newspaper reports, reporters from the publishing house "The McClatchy Company" were shown a video showing the four Americans and the Austrian. The reporters could have seen the video, but were only allowed to make a sound recording. In it he spoke the following words in English: “My name is Bert Nussbaumer. I am 25 years old, Vienna, an Austrian citizen and I want (... incomprehensible passage ...) with my friends from Iraq. “ Bert Nussbaumer performed together with two other hostages, John Young and Jonathan Cote. All three stood handcuffed in front of their bodies, side by side in front of gold-colored curtains.

During a house search in Iraq on March 21, 2007, a list of the names of foreign hostages was found, including that of the abducted Austrian national. Bert Nussbaumer apparently wrote his name on the list himself. This would have been confirmed by people who know his handwriting based on the lettering.

Efforts for Release

On March 19, 2007, Austrian Federal President Heinz Fischer urged Bert Nussbaumer's release in a letter to his Iraqi counterpart, Dschalal Talabani . In the letter, Fischer pointed to the good relations between the two states and asked for the greatest possible support. The Foreign Ministry in Vienna did not want to comment on the allegations, but on July 31, 2007 praised the cooperation with the company. Foreign office spokesman Georg Schnetzer told the APA news agency that the exchange of information had worked well.

In custody terrorist suspects located Mohamed Mahmoud made 2,007 statements on the fate of Bert Nussbaumer on 22 October. He said the kidnapped Austrian was being held in a prison in Tehran and used as a "protective shield". He got this information from Al-Hesbah . On November 22, 2007, a Crescent Security Group associate, Franco Picco, stressed that the authorities were making every effort to obtain the release of the hostages. The security company would work with the FBI to find and rescue the five security guards.

Notes and speculation

On May 30, 2007, the five security guards had new hope. Eyewitnesses had seen the five men alive a few weeks earlier. This explained the father of the US hostage Joshua Munns, Mark Munns, and referred to one of his informants . A private aid initiative assumes that the hostages are being held for financial and not political reasons. A reward of $ 150,000 was offered for useful advice .

On June 16, 2007, the news magazine “ profil ” reported rumors that Bert Nussbaumer and his four American colleagues had “been classified as a CIA agent and deported to Iran”. There are “indications that the Iranian secret service was perpetrated” and indications that the action was a retaliation for the previous arrest of several Iranian secret service members. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vienna could not confirm this. Unspecified Iraq experts assessed the chances of survival as "very poor" after research. The newspaper “ Österreich ” reported on July 15, 2007 that Bert Nussbaumer had been seen on June 18, 2007 together with the Americans who were kidnapped with him near Basra. This was announced by the parents of the American hostages at a press conference in the United States .

The Washington Post made serious accusations against the security company Crescent Security Group . Accordingly, the company put the safety of its employees at risk in order to save costs. As it became known on December 18, 2007, according to US media reports, a British soldier is said to have been killed in a military search for Bert Nussbaumer and his four fellow prisoners. The FBI and State Department confirmed in the briefing that the hunt for the hostage-takers to free the hostages was ongoing. As the soldier's death shows, however, the search is "extremely dangerous," it said.

Fingerprints and DNA traces

On March 12, 2008, the Austrian Foreign Ministry announced that US authorities in Iraq had received information about "fingerprints or DNA traces" that were clearly attributed to Bert Nussbaumer. However, it remained unclear whether he was still alive. The news magazine “ News ” had reported that a severed finger from Bert Nussbaumer had appeared. The next day, The Washington Post confirmed the report.

Corpse finds

As the FBI announced on March 24, 2008, the bodies of two US hostages had been found in Iraq. The dead were John Young and Ronald Withrow. Young was kidnapped together with Bert Nussbaumer on November 16, 2006. Withrow was an employee of the security company JPI Worldwide in Iraq and had been in the hands of his hostage takers since January 5, 2007. The FBI issued a statement condemning the murder of the two US citizens as a "heinous criminal act".

On March 27, 2008, the federal police announced that another three kidnapped employees of the security company Crescent Security Group were found dead and transferred to the USA. Accordingly, the remains of Joshua Munns and Paul Reuben were identified. Two days later, on March 29, 2008 - after DNA analyzes had been carried out - the FBI announced that the fifth dead person was definitely Bert Nussbaumer. The body of the kidnapped and killed American Jonathan Cote was found in April 2008.

funeral

On May 6, 2008, the urn with the remains of Bert Nussbaumer was buried in the Neukirchen cemetery near Altmünster. At the end of June 2008, the Linz police had the results of the autopsy on the body. Accordingly, the Upper Austrian was neither shot nor slain, but strangled or hung up.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ salzi.at Salzkammergut Information: Is Bert Nussbaumer alive? ( Memento from January 14, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) , October 12, 2007
  2. ↑ blick.ch: The mercenaries drink, murder, cover up ( memento of October 31, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) , October 3, 2007
  3. ↑ a b diepresse.com: Mysterious kidnapping of an Austrian , November 18, 2006
  4. ↑ spiegel.de: Iraq: Four Americans and an Austrian kidnapped , November 17, 2006
  5. ↑ zeit.de: Iraq: Displaced Austrians found dead , March 29, 2008
  6. ↑ news.ORF.at: Inconsistent information: Confusion in Iraq  ( page can no longer be accessed , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.orf.at   , November 17, 2006
  7. ↑ stern.de: Hostage drama: Austrians killed in Iraq , November 17, 2006
  8. ↑ news.ORF.at: Austrian kidnapped in Iraq: suspect arrested , December 6, 2006
  9. ↑ oe24.at: Nussbaumer case. Chronology of the kidnapping , March 12, 2008
  10. ^ Oesterreich.ORF.at: Possible sign of life from Bert Nussbaumer , December 29, 2006
  11. ^ Diepresse.com: Iraq: Video message from kidnapped Austrian , December 30, 2006
  12. ^ Oesterreich.ORF.at: New hope for Iraq hostage from Altmünster , March 21, 2007
  13. ↑ ots.at: Heinz Fischer asks for support for Bert Nussbaumer , March 19, 2007
  14. ^ Diepresse.com: Kidnapped Austrians in Iraq: dubious employer? , July 31, 2007
  15. ↑ networld.at: U-inmate Mohamed with sensitive statements about Austro-Geisel: "Nussbaumer in Iran" , October 22, 2007
  16. ^ Nachrichten.at: US security company: Bert Nussbaumer is alive  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.nachrichten.at , November 21, 2007
  17. ↑ ots.at: AUSTRIA: kidnapping victim Nussbaumer should live , May 30, 2007
  18. ^ Oesterreich.ORF.at: Riddle about Bert Nussbaumer , June 16, 2007
  19. ↑ news.ORF.at: Iraq hostage Nussbaumer allegedly seen in Basra , July 15, 2007
  20. ^ Oe24.at: Soldier shot while searching for Nussbaumer , December 18, 2007
  21. ^ Oesterreich.ORF.at: "DNA traces" found by Bert Nussbaumer , March 12, 2008
  22. ^ Diepresse.com: Nussbaumer case: Why did Vienna find out about DNA traces so late? , March 13, 2008
  23. ↑ kurier.at: Two US hostages found dead in Iraq ( memento from March 25, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) , March 25, 2008
  24. ↑ tirol.com: Nussbaumer case: Three bodies found in Iraq , March 27, 2008
  25. ↑ news.ORF.at: One and a half years of fear ( memento of the original from April 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.orf.at archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , March 29, 2008
  26. ↑ derStandard.at: urn of the killed Bert Nussbaumer buried , May 6, 2008
  27. ↑ krone.at: Geisel Bert Nussbaumer was strangled , June 24, 2008

Web links

 Wikinews: Bert Nussbaumer  - in the news