NewsMax.com Wires
Thursday, May 6, 2004

The man, speaking in English, identified himself as Aban Elias and said he was from Denver and worked with the Pentagon as a civilian engineer. He was wearing a black-and-white kaffiyeh, or headdress, over his eyes.

He appealed to Islamic agencies to win his release.

"I was kidnapped, and I call upon Muslim organizations to interfere to release me," Elias said.

Elias did not identify his kidnappers in the 20-second segment that aired.

Al-Arabiya television said it received the tape Thursday in Dubai with a statement from a previously unknown group calling itself Islamic Rage Brigade. It did not say how the tape was received.

The group said Elias was kidnapped May 3. It made no demands for his release.

An editor at the Emirates-based station said the entire tape was 30-40 seconds long. The editor said on condition of anonymity that the tape included a picture of his U.S. passport showing Iraq as his place of birth, but that segment was not aired.

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Editor's note: