British & Canadian Iraq hostages freed

[MackemX]

I'm pleased to hear they got released

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4836218.stm

One British and two Canadian peace activists held hostage in Iraq for almost four months have been freed in an operation by multinational forces.

Norman Kember, 74, of north-west London, James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, were three of four men seized in Baghdad in November.

Mr Kember said in a statement: "It is great to be free, and I'm looking forward to getting back to the UK."

The men's US colleague, Tom Fox, was found killed in Baghdad two weeks ago.

The three men are believed to have been rescued at 0800 local time (0500 GMT), following a weeks-long operation led by British troops and involving US and Canadian special forces.

None of the captors were present, no shots were fired and no-one injured.

A US Army spokesman said the three men had been found tied up in a house in western Baghdad.

The rescue had followed intelligence obtained from a detainee, the spokesman said.

Mr Kember was said to be in a "reasonable condition" while the two Canadians were taken to hospital.

A spokeswoman at the British embassy in Baghdad said he was "quite relaxed", but all three men were still acclimatising to their freedom.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said he had spoken to Mr Kember's wife Pat and that she was "absolutely delighted, elated with this news".

Brother Ian Kember, in Taunton, Somerset, said: "It's a wonderful thing, and it's obviously a great relief, but beyond that I haven't come to terms with it yet.

"This has been the news we have been waiting for for a long time."

Mr Kember's family also said in a statement that it was grateful for all the support given "from so many people" since he was taken hostage.

"We also thank everyone who has worked so hard for him to be set free," it added.

The men had been working in Iraq for US and Canada-based peace group Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT).

"Our hearts are filled with joy this morning," said CPT co-director Doug Pritchard.

"Together we have endured uncertainty, hope, fear, grief, and now joy during the four months since they were abducted in Baghdad."

Mr Straw said Mr Kember, from Pinner, was now in the heavily-fortified Green Zone in Baghdad.

"I'm delighted that now we have a happy ending to this terrible ordeal for Norman Kember, for his family, for the Canadian hostages and for their families as well," he added.

The Reverend Alan Betteridge, a friend of Mr Kember's for more than 40 years, told BBC Five Live: "It's tremendously good and so unexpected after the killing of Tom Fox a couple of weeks ago, when we really did fear that each one would be killed eventually."

Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was delighted by the news, and particularly pleased for the freed men and their families.

He also congratulated everyone involved in the operation, which the foreign secretary said followed "weeks and weeks of very careful work by military and coalition personnel in Iraq and many civilians as well".

Defence Secretary John Reid said the rescue operation had been "spearheaded by British troops" and involved a number of nations in the multinational coalition.

Mr Reid said: "The fact that we have Norman Kember and his colleagues safe today is a delight to their family, I'm sure it is pride to the British armed forces for the role they played and a matter of pride for the nation that once again the people who serve it have served so courageously."

Threats

The four men were abducted on 26 November by a previously unknown group calling itself the Swords of Truth Brigade.

The group had issued threats to kill the men if the US and Iraqi authorities did not meet their demand of releasing all Iraqi prisoners.

Fifty-four-year-old Mr Fox was found shot dead on 9 March in the Mansour district of the Iraqi capital.

Following the rescue, Mr Straw said: "There's one last very sad point, which is that there were four hostages captured originally, including one, an American, Mr Fox, and it's a matter of great sorrow to everybody that he was killed a little while ago."

Massoud Shadjareh, of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said joy at the three men's release was mixed with sadness for other hostages and people being killed by continuing violence in Iraq.

"We have just passed three years of this and have seen so many innocent lives taken. Norman went there to stop this madness and this madness is still continuing," he said.

Tim Nafziger, a London-based CPT member, said: "Some of the grief and pain we have been through is something that is a daily thing for Iraqis."

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[xzarkad]

I fully agree. Actually, I am always pleased to hear if any-one (regardless race or relegious streams) is released, or did not became victim of any kind of violent action.
The majority of the victims are usually innocent and any death caused by violent actions cannot be justified, as the reasons from today to harm other persons will become ridiculous over the years......