Premier Silvio Berlusconi's office responded that the 3,000 Italian troops would stay. "We are committed to obtaining the freedom of Mr. Baldoni, who is in Iraq for private work as a journalist and therefore absolutely not connected to our government," the office said in a statement. "We will do so while maintaining the commitments made to the Iraqi provisional government, which was legitimated through a Security Council resolution adopted unanimously last June. Therefore, we will continue our military and civilian presence within the framework established by that U.N. decision to contribute to the restoration of security and public order." Baldoni, 56, who went to Iraq as a freelancer for the news magazine Diario, was reported missing Friday by the Italian Foreign Ministry, which said he had not checked in with Italian officials in Iraq, as is customary. His last reported contact was Thursday. Diario's editor in chief, Enrico Deaglio, issued a statement late Tuesday intended for the kidnappers. "We would like to let the men who are holding Enzo Baldoni know who he is," he said. "He is a person animated by human feelings for the people who suffer in the world. He is an independent and absolutely autonomous journalist." --More 2331 Local Time 2031 GMT
