Taliban Threaten To Behead Canadian Hostage

A Canadian held hostage after she travelled to the lawless tribal belt of northern Pakistan says the Taliban will behead her by the end of the month if a ransom isn’t paid.

In a new video provided to The Globe and Mail, Beverly Giesbrecht expresses fear for her life if her captors aren’t paid.

“I have been advised and asked to make this video. We have very short time now and I am going to be killed, as you can see,” she says, gesturing at the dagger on the wall behind her, pointed at her head.

She alluded to Piotr Stanczak, a kidnapped Polish engineer who was executed by militants last month, the first killing of a Western hostage in Pakistan since U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002.

“I am going to be beheaded just like the Polish engineer, probably by the end of the month. The deadline is by the end of March, and that’s basically, I don’t know, 18 days or 16 days,” she says, closing her eyes.

“I’m not quite sure how long that is but the time is very short and my life is going to end,” she adds in a choked voice.

In the short video, Ms. Giesbrecht, 52, wearing a head scarf and sitting on a wooden chair, says that she is being held by the Taliban “near the Afghan border, either Pakistan or Afghanistan.”

The video opens with a voice reciting from the Koran. Abu Jindal, a moniker adopted by some jihadis, appears in Arabic and Urdu, superimposed over Ms. Giesbrecht’s face.

Ms. Giesbrecht, who is also known as Khadija Abdul Qahaar, has been a captive for four months.

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Beheaded – Taleban Said To Have Released Video of Polish Engineer Being Killed

A video delivered to media outlets appears to show Pakistani militants beheading a kidnapped Polish engineer, underscoring security fears in the Muslim nation ahead of a debut visit Monday by a newly appointed Obama administration envoy.

Pakistan has witnessed several attacks on foreigners in recent months as its overall security has deteriorated amid a growing Al Qaeda and Taliban-led insurgency. In early February, an American U.N. worker was abducted in the southwestern city of Quetta, purportedly by separatists.

The seven-minute video appears to show the Polish hostage, Piotr Stanczak, sitting on the floor flanked by two masked men. Off camera, a militant briefly engages him in conversation before three others behead him. One of the hooded men then addresses the camera, blaming Pakistan for the killing for not agreeing to their demands to release Taliban prisoners.

If confirmed, Stanczak’s death would appear to be the first killing of a Western hostage in Pakistan since U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl was beheaded in 2002.

The video was given to an Associated Press reporter Sunday in northwestern Pakistan on a flash drive by an intermediary who said he obtained it from the Taliban. The AP has elected not to distribute the images. Other international media also reported receiving or viewing footage of the killing.

Jacek Cichocki, Polish minister for security services, said he saw the full video and in his opinion “that is the Pole and the film is authentic.”

“I can say that watching the film last night, it is a terrible thing,” he told Poland’s TVN24 television, adding final confirmation would have to wait until diplomatic and consular services receive the body.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,489805,00.html