Three Christian Activists Rescued in Iraq by SF

[warpedskydiver 0]

Three Christian Activists Rescued in Iraq
By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer
33 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A coalition force on Thursday freed three Christian peace activists taken hostage in Iraq, ending a four-month hostage drama in which an American among the group was shot to death and dumped on a Baghdad street.

The Iraqi Interior Ministry said the captives were rescued in a joint U.S.-British operation in rural area northwest of Baghdad, between the towns of Mishahda, 20 miles north of Baghdad, and the western suburb of Abu Ghraib, 12 miles from downtown.

British officials in Baghdad said those freed were Canadians James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32; and Briton Norman Kember, 74. The men _ members of the Chicago-based Christian Peacemaker Teams _ were kidnapped on Nov. 26 along with their American colleague, Tom Fox, 54, whose body was found earlier this month.

Speaking in Toronto, Doug Pritchard, co-director of the group, said no shots were fired during the operation and that the kidnappers were not present when the U.S.-British force freed the hostages. U.S. and British military officials did not provide details of the operation.

In London, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Kember was in "reasonable condition" in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. The two Canadians required hospital treatment, he said, but gave no further details.

Straw also gave few details of the operation, saying only that it followed "weeks and weeks" of planning.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair's office said he was "delighted by the news" of the trio's release. "He is particularly pleased for those released and their families. He congratulates everyone involved in the operation to rescue the hostages," Downing Street said in a statement.

Loney's brother, Ed Loney, told CBC television that his mother had spoken with Loney on the phone and he sounded "fantastic."

"He's alert and he was asking how we were doing and said he was sorry for the whole situation," Ed Loney said. "My mom said, 'Don't worry about it _ just get home and we'll talk about all that stuff when you get here.'"

The kidnapped men were shown as prisoners in several videos, the most recent a silent clip dated Feb. 28 in which Loney, Kember and Sooden appeared without Fox. Fox's body was found March 10 near a west Baghdad railway line with gunshot wounds to his head and chest.

The previously unknown Swords of Righteousness Brigades claimed responsibility for the kidnappings.

In a statement, the Christian Peacemaker Teams said the activists went to Iraq "motivated by a passion for justice and peace." The group called for coalition forces to remove their troops from the country.

"We believe that the illegal occupation of Iraq by Multinational Forces is the root cause of the insecurity which led to this kidnapping and so much pain and suffering in Iraq," the statement said.

Other Americans taken hostage in Iraq and killed in addition to Fox were Ronald Schulz, 40, an industrial electrician from Anchorage, Alaska; Jack Hensley, 48, a civil engineer from Marietta, Ga.; Eugene "Jack" Armstrong, 52, formerly of Hillsdale, Mich.; and Nicholas Berg, 26, a businessman from West Chester, Pa.

Still missing is Jill Carroll, a freelance writer for The Christian Science Monitor who was kidnapped Jan. 7 in Baghdad. She has appeared in three videotapes delivered by her kidnappers to Arab satellite television stations.

The last hostage to be freed in a military operation was Douglas Wood, an Australian rescued in west Baghdad by U.S. and Iraqi forces on June 15 after 47 days in captivity

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Way to go boys!!! great job!

however in regards to the statement issued by the group, did they really want to be rescued from those poor oppressed people?

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[Adriandavies 0]

I have made this more to be a devil's advocate than anything else.

How would these peace activists feel if their kidnappers or an Iraqi civilian was killed or injured during their rescue? The activists went there to promote peace but their very presence led them to be kidnapped leading to violence being done in their name in order for them to be released. I am sure that they would have preferred to be released following negotiations but are they now going to be as pleased by the result as they would have been?

[kallend 2,150]

Can't be true. Gravitymaster told us The Media never reports good news.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[billvon 3,119]

>Can't be true.

Top story on CNN, MSNBC and CBS news. Good to see some good news out of Iraq for a change.