Caller Says U.S. Hostages Will Be at News Conference
BEIRUT — A caller claiming to speak for Islamic Jihad, a shadowy group holding six Americans hostage here, said Sunday that some of the prisoners will hold a news conference and address a message to American public opinion and the U.S. government.
He did not say when or where the conference will take place. But he warned that afterward, the U.S. government must “assume full responsibility†for the hostages’ lives.
Washington officials said they could not confirm plans for a press conference.
The caller made no specific demands. However, the Rev. Benjamin Weir, a Presbyterian minister freed Sept. 14 after 16 months in captivity, said Islamic Jihad is prepared to execute the remaining American hostages if Kuwait does not free 17 terrorists it has convicted of a series of 1983 bombings.
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