[amc] CPT members freed
- From: wseverin1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Werner J. Severin)
- To: amc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2006 08:55:19 -0500
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/23/international/middleeast/23cnd-hostages.ht
ml?ei=5094&en=1c7c1b639dfdc5a6&hp=&ex=1143176400&partner=homepage&pagewanted
=print
March 23, 2006
3 Western Aid Workers in Iraq Rescued in Military Operation
By CHRISTINE HAUSER
Three Western peace workers who were held hostage in Iraq for four months
were freed in a military operation today, two weeks after their American
colleague was killed in captivity.
The three men - James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, both from
Canada; and Norman Kember, 74, of Britain - had been kidnapped last
November along with the American man, Tom Fox, in Baghdad.
Mr. Fox's body was found this month. He had apparently been tortured by his
captors before being shot multiple times in the head and dumped on a trash
heap next to a railway line in western Baghdad.
"Our hearts are filled with joy today as we heard that Harmeet Singh
Sooden, Jim Loney and Norman Kember have been safely released in Baghdad,"
said a statement from the group they were working with, the Christian
Peacemaker Teams. "Together we have endured uncertainty, hope, fear, grief
and now joy during the four months since they were abducted in Baghdad."
The delegation coordinator for the group, Claire Evans, said by telephone
from Chicago that Mr. Loney, a 41-year old Canadian, had contacted his
family this morning from the Green Zone, the fortified compound in Baghdad
where some American military forces, Iraqi government offices and the
American embassy are located.
"He said that they were all in reasonable health," she said, adding that
the three men were undergoing medical checks.
The men were freed by multinational forces in a military operation. In
London, the British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, said that the mission
included British forces.
"It follows weeks and weeks of very careful work by military and coalition
personnel in Iraq and many civilians as well," Mr. Straw said, adding that
it involved a number of countries, including Canadian personnel.
He said that he had spoken with Mr. Kember's wife. "Of course, it goes
without saying that she is absolutely delighted, elated, with this news,"
Mr. Straw said.
He said that Mr. Kember was in "reasonable" condition and the two Canadians
had to have hospital treatment.
The Loney family declined to be interviewed this morning, according to the
group's office in Canada. But the family released a statement saying that
Mr. Loney had been released unharmed with his two companions.
"What a joyful day this is," the family's statement said. "We have just
learned that James is coming home."
It also expressed sympathy for Mr. Fox's family.
The Iraqi Interior Ministry said it was believed the captives were freed in
a town north of Baghdad, although there were conflicting reports on the
location of the operation, according to an Associated Press report.
The Christian Peacemaker Teams organization promotes peace and human rights
in conflict zones.
On March 7, all but Mr. Fox appeared on a tape shown by the Arab television
network Al Jazeera. The tape was dated Feb. 28 and showed the three men
talking, though the video was silent. Before that, the hostages, including
Mr. Fox, were seen on a video released Jan. 28.
The Swords of Righteousness Brigade, an insurgent group, has said it was
holding the men and threatened to kill them if all Iraqi prisoners were not
released.
Kidnappers in Iraq have taken both foreigners and Iraqis hostage to press
their demands for ransom, or often portraying the hostages on videotape
pleading for foreign troops to withdraw from Iraq or for Iraqi prisoners to
be freed. Jill Carroll, a freelance writer for The Christian Science
Monitor who was kidnapped Jan. 7 in Baghdad, is still missing. Since her
abduction, she has appeared in three videotapes accompanied with message
that convey her kidnappers demands.
Werner J. Severin
3108 Silverleaf Drive
Austin, Tx. 78757-1611
(512) 452-5080
-------
Austin Mennonite Church, (512) 926-3121 www.mennochurch.org
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