The last batch of Egyptians held hostages in Iraq is back home. Gihan Shahine talks to the two engineers about their gruelling month in captivity "It was the most difficult time in my entire life," was how telecom engineer Mahmoud Tork described being taken hostage in Iraq. "At first, I thought the kidnappers would behead me, and I panicked." Tork was one of the six telecom technicians and engineers who were taken hostage a month ago. The six worked for Iraqna, an Iraqi subsidiary of Egypt-based Orascom Telecom Holding, one of three companies licensed to build and operate an Iraqi mobile phone network. Four of the hostages were released within the first week of captivity. The fate of the two others, engineer Tork and his manager, Mustafa Abdel-Latif, hung in the balance until their release just last week. Armed gunmen had grabbed the two engineers during a raid on their Baghdad residence on Thursday 23 September, just one day after the four technicians, who worked for one of the company's subcontractors, were also abducted from a remote location near the Syrian border, along with six Iraqi engineers who were released a few days later. The attack took place around 10pm, just after Abdel-Latif and Tork had come home to the company's residential villa after a long day at work. Their two housemates were not around; one was on his annual leave in Egypt, and the other was out on an errand. Abdel-Latif was resting in his bedroom on the top floor, while Tork was watching television on the ground floor. Suddenly, the lights went off. "Generally, when the lights cut, generators automatically turn on within three minutes, and life goes immediately back to normal," Tork recounted. That night, however, the lights did not come back on. Abdel-Latif went downstairs, and then outside, to see what was wrong with the generators. The minute he stepped out of the villa, two men assaulted him. "I was out in the villa's garden when two men grabbed me, pushed me to the ground and tied my hands up," Abdel-Latif said. "They told me not to move or shout, and I surrendered. They grabbed my mobile and a laptop from the villa." Tork was still in the living room, unaware of what was going on outside. Suddenly, two gunmen dashed in, and demanded that he put his hands in the air and stand still. The attackers were Iraqi and spoke in Arabic. "That was the moment I knew we would be abducted," Tork told Al-Ahram Weekly. "I did not try to resist so as not to push the captors into doing anything reckless. I surrendered." The kidnappers then blindfolded the two engineers, loaded them into a car boot, and drove them to an unknown location. Sandwiched in the boot with his colleague, Tork recalls his terror. "I thought they would take us away to behead us," he said. "It was horror." As he recounted the tale, Tork paused for a moment and let out a cynical laugh. "I had never imagined that a car boot could actually accommodate two adult men," he said. The kidnappers took the hostages to a remote house; it was there that they spent the rest of their time in captivity. The captors assured the engineers that they did not want to hurt them because they were "blood brothers". They told the two men that they "were only there for interrogations, and would be released after negotiations with the company took place," Tork said. "But they did not elaborate further." The captors asked the two engineers about the nature of their work, and whether their company had any relationship with the US, or was serving the occupation in any way. Abdel-Latif, who had been working in Iraq for eight months, assured the captors that the company was "purely Egyptian", and was actually providing a service to the Iraqi people. Tork told the Weekly that before he decided to go to Iraq, he had grappled with similar concerns. "I accepted the job when I found that the majority of Iraqna mobile network subscribers are Iraqis," he said. "I even consulted sheikhs who advised me to go ahead, since I would actually be helping the Iraqis build their devastated country." Tork said that the group's Emir, or leader, usually led the brief interrogations. The emir -- whose face was hidden behind a checked scarf -- seemed better educated than the rest. The two engineers said they were certain that the kidnappers did not belong to a religious group; that they were probably from a combination of Iraqi resistance groups and gangs. Unlike the abductors of the four Egyptian technicians, the kidnappers of the two engineers "were not punctual in prayers, and were not bearded." One was also Christian. "What was most characteristic about the abductors was that they were almost illiterate, unorganised, and apparently unable to define their target," Tork said. They also "did not have a clear and right understanding of Islam. They were clearly unable to tell an enemy from a friend. They seemed ignorant and confused." That was the main reason why the two engineers decided to be very cautious about how they communicated with their abductors. Many previously freed hostages had spoken of Iraqi kidnappers treating their captives well. "They gave us from the same food they had for themselves, provided us with clean lodging, and allowed us to pray," Tork said. The engineers also said that they were not subjected to any humiliation or torture. The four technicians had told the Weekly much the same thing. Time seemed to stand still. Unsure of their fate, the two engineers spent most of their time praying or reading the Qur'an. News of the other four Orascom hostages being released gave them hope, but then the days and weeks wore on, and their own situation remained the same. "Our faith in God gave us strength and patience," Abdel-Latif said. "But what worried us most was how our families suffered during our absence." One day, while Tork was thinking of his sick mother, his two young daughters, and his wife, he heard familiar voices that made his heart bit faster. "The abductors were watching television in [another room], and I overheard my mother and wife talking to one of the satellite channels, asking the kidnappers to set us free," he said. "My heart jumped and I wanted to scream and tell my family I was fine. It was a major boost for my morale to also hear Egyptians expressing their concern for us. I felt so homesick." It remains unclear why the two engineers were held for so long even though their colleagues were released within a week. The freed hostages said that all they knew was that suspected Al-Qaeda operative Abu Mossab Al-Zarqawi's Al- Tawhid wal Jihad group had intervened in the company's negotiations with the kidnappers, who were from another group. On 11 October, Orascom employees in Baghdad reportedly cut off the company's mobile phone service for three hours in protest against Tork and Abdel- Latif's continued captivity. A spokesman for Iraqna said, "negotiations with the captors took time to guarantee the safety of the hostages, which was the company's first priority." The company did not elaborate on the kind of negotiations that went on with the captors, but said the kidnappers released the hostages after they made sure the company had nothing to do with the US. The company also denied claims that they had to pay ransoms to release the two engineers. A spokesman for the company had also refuted reports that Orascom paid an alleged $30,000 to $50,000 each in ransom to free the four technicians. Sources, however, told the Weekly that they were fairly certain that the company had paid $120,000 in ransom money to secure the release of the four technicians. Orascom Chairman Naguib Sawiris said Iraqi tribal leaders and clerics acted as mediators. Sawiris said the company would "continue to provide its services to the Iraqi people", and "does not plan to withdraw" before it completes its reported $100 million investment in Iraq. According to Sawiris, the recent mass exodus of Egyptian technicians has not brought the company's work to a halt; 40 Egyptian engineers and technicians remain in Iraq, engaged in the construction of mobile networks, along with other infrastructure work at Baghdad airport. There are still no confirmed reports regarding the identity of the captors, but it is now clear that there was no link between those who abducted the two engineers, and those who kidnapped the four technicians. Investigations are also underway to find out whether the security company in charge of the engineers' villa was involved in their abduction in any way. "When we were seized, we glimpsed security men sitting, hands tied, in a side garden room," Abdel-Latif said. "It would be difficult to tell whether security men were involved, or merely inefficient, because security conditions have generally been out of control in Iraq in recent months." At least 150 foreigners have been taken hostage in a recent spate of abductions. Whereas the majority of hostages were ultimately released, several have been slain, including British engineer Nicholas Berg. Experts classify the kidnappers into two main groups: those who belong to national resistance movements; and gangs that commit acts of robbery under the banner of resistance. Although Tork and Abdel-Latif would not classify their abductors as simple "criminals", they say the kidnappers grabbed their mobiles, Tork's pocket money and identity cards, and Abdel-Latif's laptop. Although the kidnappers promised to return those belongings to the company, the two engineers are not pressing the point. They are too busy celebrating their reunion with their families back in Cairo. "What matters is that the nightmare is over," Abdel-Latif said with a sigh of relief.
