An Indo-Canadian is among four foreigners kidnapped by a terrorist group in Iraq on November 27.
Harmeet Singh Soodan, 32, was taken hostage, along with James Loney, 41, of Toronto and one British and one American citizen.
All of them were working for Christian Peacemaker teams. The Christian Peacemaker is an organisation dedicated to ending conflict. However, it does not carry out conversions.
The Swords of Righteousness group has claimed responsibility for the abductions. The terrorist group has called the hostages 'spies working for the occupying forces' under the guise of a Christian aid group.
Media reports in Toronto Wednesday described Soodan as a Canadian electrical engineer who was studying for a Master's in English in New Zealand. A statement from Peacemaker said , "His family describes him as peaceful and fun-loving and he is known to be passionate about the plight of the underprivileged around the globe."
Canada's Prime Minister Paul Martin has vowed that his government had no more urgent priority than 'the safe return of our citizens' and that the government was reaching out to the families of the two Canadians.
"I have instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Pierre Pettigrew) and the clerk of the Privy Council to make certain that the full resources of the government of Canada are made available to this end," he said.
