Hisham Salem is a 37-year-old contractor. He was seized in Baghdad 2 days after he arrived there to take up employment with a Kuwaiti company.

On August 11, the office of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced that a Shiite militia had raided an apartment in the Shaad neighborhood and freed the 4 hostages found there, including Mr. Salem. He was apparently held at this location along with Mustafa Abdul-Rassul Hussein, Atta Ibrahim Constantine and Haji Alawi.

Mr. Constantine states that his kidnappers showed every sign of success in their chosen field. They drove new cars and owned mobile phones and expensive jewelry.