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Arab TV shows German hostages tape
 The German hostages appear in a videotape shown on Al-Jazeera TV. (CNN) -- Arabic TV network Al-Jazeera broadcast a video Friday showing two Germans kidnapped in Baiji, Iraq, this week. The kidnappers identified themselves as the "Supporters of God's Unity and Sunna Brigades." They made no demands on the videotape for the release of the men. Shortly afterward, German Chancellor Angela Merkel appealed to the captors to release the Germans without delay, The Associated Press reported. A special team had been set up to deal with the crisis, according to German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The government is doing "everything in our power so that we not only receive information, but the hostages will be returned to us safely," he said. In the video shown on Friday, the engineers asked the German government to intervene for their release. The kidnapped men have been widely identified in the German media as Rene Braunlich and Thomas Nitzschke. The engineers were headed to work at a detergent factory on the grounds of the Baiji refinery on Tuesday when gunmen dressed like members of the Iraqi army abducted them. The airing of their hostage video came one day after the U.S. military released 424 detainees, among them five Iraqi women. Their freedom answered in part the demands of the captors of U.S. journalist Jill Carroll -- who have called for the release of all female Iraqi detainees. Authorities have insisted, however, that the release was not connected to Jill Carroll's abduction. (Full story) Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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