Hostage alert

Srinagar - Two of four Western hostages held in Kashmir by Al- Faran guerrillas since early July are ill and one of them is struggling for life, according to their captors. A handwritten statement said the Indian government would be responsible if any of the hostages died.

The statement did not identify which hostages were unwell but India said last week that an American, Don Hutchings, and one of the two British hostages, Paul Wells and Keith Mangan, was ill. Reuter