2 American Hostages in Lebanon Mark 6th Christmas in Captivity

Americans Terry A. Anderson and Thomas M. Sutherland spent their sixth Christmas in captivity Tuesday, and newspapers printed greetings from Anderson’s family and a photo of the daughter he has never held.

“Perhaps our miracle will happen and we’ll welcome you home in time to share the beginning of the new year,” wrote Peggy Say, Anderson’s sister.

For Anderson, the longest-held Western hostage in Lebanon, it was another macabre milestone in his ordeal. The 43-year-old chief Middle East correspondent for the Associated Press was kidnaped on March 16, 1985.

Sutherland, 59, of Ft. Collins, Colo., is the second-longest-held American among the 13 missing Westerners. He was dean of agriculture at American University of Beirut when he was abducted June 9, 1985.

The other captives are four Americans, four Britons, two Germans and an Italian.

Beirut’s eight major newspapers carried messages for Anderson from Say, his 5-year-old daughter Sulome--born four months after he was kidnaped--and Sulome’s mother, Madeleine.

The leftist As Safir daily also published greetings to British hostage John McCarthy from his family and friends on his fifth Christmas as a captive.

McCarthy, 34, a London-based television journalist, was kidnaped April 17, 1986, as he drove to Beirut International Airport to catch a flight for London.

Islamic Jihad, or Islamic Holy War, a group believed made up of pro-Iranian Shiite Muslim zealots, claims it holds Anderson and Sutherland.

Most of the 11 other Western hostages, including McCarthy, Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite and the other Americans, are believed held by Shiite fanatics.