Kidnappers Release Video of U.S. Civilian

Insurgents who kidnapped an American civilian released a videotape of the man Saturday, and his wife confirmed that he had been captured.

The tape of the American, broadcast on the Arab TV station Al Jazeera, showed him identifying himself as Thomas Hamill, 43, from Mississippi. In other footage with no audio, he stood in front of an Iraqi flag, his expression calm but wary as his captors threatened to kill him.

A voice-over read by an Al Jazeera announcer quoted Hamill as saying he was being treated well and that he worked for a “private company that supports the military action.”

His wife, Kellie, confirmed from their home in Macon, Miss., that her husband had been captured. She told Associated Press that he worked for the Houston-based engineering and construction company KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, and referred all other comment to the employer.

“I am in good shape,” the voice-over quoted Hamill as saying. “They were good to me. They gave me antibiotics.

“I hope to return home one day, and I want my family to know that these people are taking care of me, and provide me with food, water and a place to sleep.”

Hamill stood in front of the red, white and black Iraqi flag, its emblazoned slogan “God is great” prominent above his head. His eyes darted back and forth, but he appeared calm.

His captors warned that he would meet a worse fate than four American civilians killed in Fallouja on March 31, their bodies burned and mutilated by a mob, unless U.S. forces ended their assault on the city “within 12 hours, starting 6 p.m.” -- 7 a.m. PDT Saturday.

“At the end of this period, he will be treated worse than those who were killed and burned in Fallouja,” the voice-over said.

Hamill was snatched Friday by gunmen who attacked a fuel convoy he was guarding on the main highway on Baghdad’s western edge.