Above: American Hostage

BHAGDAD- U.S. authorities that are located in Baghdad had received severed five fingers that are supposedly the finger of the 5 hostages that were taken for more than a year ago in Iraq, as U.S. officials had informed media last Wednesday.

Notifying the families of the 5 captives as FBI is thorough in their investigation for development, U.S. officials however stressed to media that sources should be remained unknown since leakage of information to the public is not allowed.

The fingers had been verified as belonging to the following American hostages in Baghdad:

Jonathan Cote of Florida

Joshua Munns of California

Paul Johnson Reuben of Minnesota

Bert Nussbaumer of Austria

Ronald J. Withrow, an American who was kidnapped separately from others.

Information leading to where, when and how the fingers had been obtained by the U.S. officials had not been available. The relatives of the missing Americans said that they have been informed weeks ago confirming the DNA of the hostages but had not the details had not been given.

The first group of hostages that were held captives were composed of 4 persons which one of them was John Young, authorities had confirmed that the not one of the DNA found was from Young.

Young mother Sharon DeBrabander said, “I certainly don’t understand why my son’s wasn’t found. What does that mean?”

The other hostage, Withrow is a computer specialist that was kidnapped at a fake checkpoint are near southern Iraqi of Basra on the 5^th of Janauary 2007. There was very little data pertaining to details of the said abduction however Withrows translator and driver was found dead the next day of the abduction.

The father of Joshua Munns had said, “All we have right now is prayers. I don’t know how to make head or tails of what’s going on. Are they still alive? A whole bunch of stuff goes through your head.” Joshua has spent his past 2 birthdays in captivity.

Every Monday there’s a telephone conference to update the relatives of the hostages about the subject matter. Although relatives sometimes complain that they have sometime been kept in the dark regarding ongoing investigations, authorities of the FBI told them that confidentiality is needed to bare the integrity of the investigation.

The hostages had made hostage videos in December 2006 and January 2007 in which they pleaded to U.S. to set free the Iraqi prisoners and to pull out all troops from Iraq. In both videos the hostages were in good condition saying that they have been treated well in their place of captivity.

There was no information pertaining that there was demand for money, and the group that held the hostages had remained to be unclear.

Authorities and the people involved in the case are trying to see the positive of what the fingers meant. Saying that the fingers symbolized that the captives are still there and that they are ready to make deals soon in negotiation in excanhge of the captive’s release.