Cast of Characters

The Christian Science Monitor's longtime driver in Baghdad, Adnan was driving Jill the day she was abducted and her interpreter, Alan, was killed. Adnan managed to escape.

Abu Ahmed kept Jill at his house near Fallujah. He was both a close lieutenant of Abu Nour's, and appeared to be a member of the Mujahideen Shura Council. Abu Ahmed was an Islamic scholar. He also had read an Arabic translation of a Henry Kissinger biography, and was reading a translation of the old Dale Carnegie classic, "How To Win Friends and Influence People" during Jill's captivity. 'Abu' means 'father,' or 'father of,' in Arabic. Abu Ahmed is a nom de guerre.

A participant in Jill's abduction, Abu Ali was in charge of one of the insurgent cells led by Abu Nour, but he was not a member of the Mujahideen Shura Council. He tried to convert Jill to Islam, showing her the similarities between Islam and Christianity, and pointing out the shared stories in the Koran and the Bible. He was the only one of Jill's captors with a beard. Abu Ali is a nom de guerre.

Jill's main guard, who appeared to rank below Abu Ahmed, who in turn 'reported to' Abu Rasha, in turn was under the leadership of Abu Nour. Jill's impression was that Abu Hassan was more mature than the others, but also more sinister and calculating. She guesses his age at 32 and describes him as fit and athletic. Abu Hassan is married and has children. He wore a suicide vest at the insurgents' safe house and kept a 9mm pistol by his side. He liked "Tom and Jerry" cartoons. Jill spent more time with him and Abu Qarrar than any other guards. Abu Hassan is a nom de guerre.

The leader of Jill's kidnappers, Abu Nour, aka Abdullah Rashid al Baghdadi, was the self-proclaimed head of the Mujahideen Shura Council of Iraq, the Sunni insurgency directorate. Abu Nour is a nom de guerre.

A lower-ranking guard of Jill, under Abu Ahmed. To Jill, Abu Qarrar seemed to be a young, immature newcomer to the mujahideen. He had not memorized much of the Koran, and he liked to watch girls on a music video channel when he thought nobody would see him. Abu Qarrar was a heavy-set, non-athletic man with a tattoo of Arabic script on his left arm. He also liked "Tom and Jerry" cartoons. Abu Qarrar said he was 26, and while Jill was held hostage, he left for an arranged marriage to a 13-year-old girl. Jill spent more time with him and Abu Hassan than any other guards. Abu Qarrar is a nom de guerre.

One of Jill's kidnappers and boss of her guards, Abu Rasha was the leader of the mujahideen cell with which Jill spent most of her time. Like Abu Ahmed, he was both a close lieutenant of Abu Nour's, and appeared to be a member of the Mujahideen Shura Council. During her first night of captivity, Jill was kept at his house in Baghdad, where he lived with his wife and children. Abu Rasha's home was the second location to which Jill was taken on the day of her kidnapping. Abu Rasha is a nom de guerre.

A French journalist kidnapped in Iraq Jan. 5, 2005, she was released five months later. The same group that kidnapped and released Aubenas also abducted and held Jill hostage.

An Iraqi reporter for Al Arabiya TV. On Feb. 22, she and her cameraman and soundman were killed by gunmen while interviewing Iraqis on the outskirts of Samarra. The three had been covering the sectarian violence which followed the bombing of the Askariya Shrine, a Shiite mosque. The daughter of a Sunni father and Shiite mother, Bahjat had previously worked for the Al Jazeera satellite network.

An Israeli-American television journalist, Daphne Barak is known for her interviews with royalty, world leaders, and music and film stars. In an interview that Barak conducted with Sattam al-Gaood, a former Baathist party member and friend of Saddam Hussein's, Gaood claimed to be able to secure Jill's release.

The editor of The Christian Science Monitor, Richard Bergenheim headed up "Team Jill," a group of Monitor editors assembled in response to Jill's kidnapping to coordinate efforts to secure her release.

As an American freelance reporter, Jill worked for The Christian Science Monitor in Iraq. On the morning of Jan. 7, 2006, after leaving an attempted interview with Adnan al-Dulaimi, Jill was abducted by masked gunmen, about 100 yards from the prominent Sunni politician's office. She was freed March 30. Her kidnappers called her by the Sunni nickname "Aisha" while holding her in captivity.

Jill worked in Iraq as a freelance journalist for nearly two years, reporting for the Italian news agency, ANSA, USA Today, US News and World Report, and finally, The Christian Science Monitor. She attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where she wrote for the student newspaper. After graduating, she worked at the Wall Street Journal as a reporting assistant until August of 2002, and then moved to Jordan where she reported for the Jordan Times in Amman. A few months after the US invasion of Iraq, Jill moved to Iraq to pursue a freelance career as a Middle East correspondent. She became a Monitor staffer in January 2006.

Jill's father, Jim Carroll, is a businessman working in the software industry.

Jill's twin sister, Katie Carroll, works for an international development consulting firm based in Washington. She served as the Carroll family's chief communicator during the crisis. Katie Carroll attended Tufts University.

Jill's mother, Mary Beth Carroll, is a retired high school teacher. She was in Minneapolis visiting her parents when she learned of Jill's kidnapping.

The Washington bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor, David Cook was part of "Team Jill," a group of Monitor editors assembled in response to Jill's kidnapping to coordinate efforts to secure her release. Cook served as chief spokesman and liaison to the US media.

One of the most influential Sunni politicians in the Iraqi government, Dulaimi heads the Iraqi Accordance Front, a Sunni political coalition. It was after a failed appointment to interview Dulaimi that Jill was abducted, 100 yards from his Baghdad office. She and her interpreter, Alan, had traveled there several times previously without incident.

Jill's interpreter in Iraq, killed during her abduction. Alan owned a music store in Baghdad before utilizing his English language skills as a way to support his family after the US-led invasion and occupation. Jill and Alan worked together for nearly two years, freelancing for the Italian News Agency ANSA, USA Today, US News and World Report, and the Christian Science Monitor. As of Jill's release on March 30, Alan was one of nearly 100 journalists and media assistants to have been killed in Iraq since the start of the war. Alan was married to Fairuz and had two children, Martin and Mary Ann. His widow, children, and parents are trying to acquire visas to the US. The Monitor has relocated them to another country in the Middle East, and established a fund in his name for his surviving family.

Middle East editor of The Christian Science Monitor.

An American peace activist from Clear Brook, Va., Tom Fox was one of four members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams, a Chicago-based organization, kidnapped Nov. 26, 2005, by a previously unknown group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade. Fox's body was found three months later. His fellow captives, a Briton and two Canadians, were rescued west of Baghdad by US, British and Iraqi forces acting on intelligence gathered from a detainee.

An Iraqi businessman, Sattam al-Gaood is a former Baathist party member and a friend of Saddam Hussein. Gaood suggested in an interview with Daphne Barak that he could secure Jill's release and that he would be willing to use his own money to do so. Gaood was once the director of El Eman, the "largest network of Iraqi front companies" that smuggled oil out of Iraq and foodstuffs into Iraq in violation of the UN Oil-for-Food program, according to he CIA's 2004 report on Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction but "he has stated that he believed this to be legitimate business."

The head of the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP), a major Sunni political party, Tariq al-Hashemi in April became one of two vice-presidents of the Iraqi government. That same month, gunmen killed his brother and sister in separate attacks in Baghdad. Hashemi sent his personal security detail with armored vehicles to pick Jill up from a local branch of the IIP, where she was released by her captors. Later that same day, Hashemi presented her with gifts at a news conference.

Director for CARE International in Iraq. She was kidnapped at gunpoint Oct. 19, 2004, when men dressed as police officers stopped her car on her way to work in Baghdad. She was killed Nov. 16 in a videotaped execution.

As managing editor of The Christian Science Monitor, Marshall Ingwerson was part of "Team Jill," a group of Monitor editors assembled in response to Jill's kidnapping to coordinate efforts to secure her release. He served as the liaison with Iraqi media. In the early days of Jill's abduction, he coordinated an international media effort to delay publishing stories about the kidnapping.

An interpreter and fixer in Baghdad, Khalid (not his real name) had worked for the Monitor for a year-and-a-half at the time of Jill's abduction. Staff writer Dan Murphy liked working with him, as both men were interested in the nexus of politics and religion. Khalid claimed to have sources who knew where Jill was being held captive, but leads that were actively pursued turned to dead ends.

Zalmay Khalilzad was sworn in as US ambassador to Iraq in June, 2005. Prior to that, he served as ambassador to Afghanistan; George W. Bush named him to that post in November, 2003. According to wikipedia.org, he is the highest-ranking native Afghan and Muslim in the Bush administration.

One of four Christian Peacemakers kidnapped Nov. 26, 2005, in Iraq, James Loney was freed Mar. 23 along with two colleagues.

Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US agency with jurisdiction and investigative responsibility of American citizens kidnapped in foreign countries.

The Arab World correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor, Dan Murphy is based in Cairo, Egypt. For nearly three months, he worked in Baghdad in the effort to find Jill.

The deputy international news editor of The Christian Science Monitor, Amelia Newcomb was part of "Team Jill," a group of Monitor editors assembled in response to Jill's kidnapping to coordinate efforts to secure her release. Newcomb served as the Monitor's liaison to the Carroll family.

A correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor based in Istanbul, Turkey, Scott Peterson was the first person from the Monitor notified of Jill's kidnapping. For nearly three months, finding Jill became his primary job. Peterson was among a group of Monitor reporters who cycled in and out of Baghdad.

A spokesman in Baghdad for the Iraqi Islamic Party, a major Sunni political party whose members have been arrested by US forces in the past. Jill's father says he spoke with Sammarai in February during an aborted negotiation attempt. Sammarai says he has never spoken to Jim Carroll.

The international news editor of The Christian Science Monitor, David Clark Scott was part of "Team Jill," a group of Monitor editors assembled in response to Jill's kidnapping to coordinate efforts to secure her release Scott served as the main liaison with contacts in Baghdad.

An Italian journalist kidnapped Feb. 4, 2005, Giuliana Sgrena was released one month later. Her Italian secret service agent was shot and killed, and she was wounded, by US troops on the way to the Baghdad airport. Jill's captors also claimed to have kidnapped Sgrena.

Wife of Abu Ali, Um Ali guarded Jill at all times in her first month of captivity. She was in her mid-20s, pregnant, had three children, and wanted to be suicide bomber. Um Ali also took an active role in attempting to convert Jill to Islam. Um Ali is a nom de guerre. 'Um' means 'mother,' or 'mother of,' in Arabic.

The head of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi became the US military's "most wanted man in Iraq" for his role in inciting the insurgency and fueling sectarian violence, although some analysts suggest that the US government and military exaggerated his importance. Jill's captors referred to Zarqawi as a fellow member of the Mujahideen Shura Council in Iraq. US forces killed Zarqawi on June 7, 2006.

Born in Jordan, Zarqawi's real name was Ahmad Fadil al-Khalaylah. He took his nom de guerre from his hometown of Zarqa, where Palestinian terrorists blew up three hijacked airliners in a pioneering act of anti-Western violence in 1970. In the late 1980s, Zarqawi ventured to Afghanistan and joined Islamic militants in fighting Soviet troops. Returning to Jordan, Zarqawi spent much of the 1990s in prison for storing weapons and for his association with an Islamic extremist group. After being pardoned by King Abdullah, Zarqawi resumed plotting terrorist attacks and recaptured the attention of authorities, particularly for his role in the foiled "Millennium Plot" to bomb a Radisson hotel in Amman and other tourist spots in Jordan. He fled to Pakistan where his visa was revoked and then to Afghanistan, establishing his first contact with Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, and setting up a training camp for Jordanian militants. When US forces retaliated for the attacks of September 11, Zarqawi joined Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters, and after being injured in a firefight, he fled to Iraq.

Zarqawi is believed to have personally beheaded American hostages Nicholas Berg and Eugene Armstrong on video in April and September 2004. US and Iraqi officials say he orchestrated attacks that marked the birth of the insurgency, such as the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003, and the killing of moderate Ayatollah Mohammad Bakr al-Hakkim beside a Shiite shrine in Najaf.

A chief suspect in the abductions of Margaret Hassan and Sgrena Giuliana, Sheikh Hussein al-Zubayi was a former member of the Muslim Scholars Association, a Sunni group. He is now in hiding.