BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Arab television broadcast an insurgent video yesterday showing four peace activists taken hostage in Iraq, with a previously unknown group claiming they were spies, while Germany’s chancellor called for the release of an archaeologist abducted in a separate case.

The Swords of Righteousness Brigade said the four were undercover as Christian peace activists, Al-Jazeera television news reported. The station said it could not verify any of the information on the tape.

The video showed four men and a British passport belonging to Norman Kember. The British government and the Christian Peacemaker Teams group have both reported that Kember, 74, was among the four activists taken hostage on Saturday.

A white-haired man, shown in the passport photograph, could also be seen sitting on the floor next to three other men in the video, which had a date stamp indicating it was recorded on Nov 27.

In the corner of the video was a graphic logo showing two, crossed black swords and the name of the group written in red Arabic script.

“We utterly condemn the abduction of Mr Norman Kember and his colleagues. The release of this video can only cause further distress to their families at this difficult time,” Britains’s Foreign Office said in a statement shortly afterward.

Christian Peacemaker Teams confirmed the four activists were from the organisation.