Mustafa Abdul-Rassul Hussein is a 49-year-old businessman. He moved to Iraq in 2003 and is married to an Iraqi woman, with whom he has two sons. Mr. Hussein was seized along with Atta Ibrahim Constantine while on his way to a business meeting which now appears to have been a trap, and his kidnappers subsequently contacted the Lebanese Embassy demanding ransom. A ransom was apparently paid, but the kidnappers reneged on a promise to release the men on the evening of the August 10.
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. Hussein. He was apparently held at this location along with Hisham Salem, Atta Ibrahim Constantine and Haji Alawi.
