Body of Soviet Envoy Discovered in Beirut; Caller Threatens Embassy

BEIRUT â€”  The body of one of four kidnaped Soviet Embassy employees was found in an empty lot near a Beirut sports stadium today, and an anonymous caller threatened to blow up the Soviet Embassy.

Beirut Coroner Ahmed Harati said the body of cultural attache Arkady Katkov was identified by Igor Mazourov, political secretary at the Soviet Embassy.

Katkov, 32, was seized by gunmen in West Beirut on Monday along with commercial attache Valery Mirikov, press attache Oleg Spirin and Soviet Embassy doctor Nikolai Sversky.

Katkov’s body was found near the shell-blasted Cite Sportif stadium after an anonymous caller claiming to represent the Islamic Liberation Organization telephoned a Western news agency in Beirut to say the kidnapers had killed one of the captives.

Threat on Embassy

In another anonymous call to a Western news agency, a man purporting to speak for the same group telephoned a Western news agency and threatened to blow up the Soviet Embassy within 48 hours.

“After carrying out previous warnings to wipe out members of the Soviet diplomatic corps and members of the KGB, these people have 48 hours in which to evacuate the compound,� the caller said.

The Islamic Liberation Organization, a Sunni Muslim fundamentalist group, is linked to Tawhid Islami, or the Islamic Unification movement. The group is under attack in the northern port of Tripoli by Syrian-backed leftist forces.

Syria is Moscow’s main Middle East ally, and the group claiming responsibility for the kidnapings has said it is trying to force Moscow to halt the Syrian-backed onslaught on extremists in Tripoli.

48-Hour Deadline

“Otherwise it (the Soviet Embassy) shall be brought down on their heads in complete destruction. The time limit ends in 48 hours . . . . It will not be extended,� the caller said.

Harati, who examined the body in the morgue of the American University Hospital, said Katkov was shot in the temple at close range with a single bullet from a 7-millimeter automatic gun.

In Moscow today, the Soviet government demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the remaining three Soviet officials and said any delay would aggravate the guilt of the kidnapers.

A government statement, read out on the main evening news program, said: “Procrastination in this matter, let alone violence against the Soviet citizens, will further aggravate the guilt of all those who have anything to do with this matter.�