Middle East News

Release of Iraqi militant sparks hostage hopes in Britain

Jun 9, 2009, 16:25 GMT

London - The release of a leading Iraqi militant by US forces in Iraq sparked fresh hopes Tuesday that five Britons kidnapped in Baghdad more than two years ago may be freed, reports in Britain said. The Foreign Office in London confirmed that the US military handed Shiite insurgent Laith al-Khazali over to the Iraqi authorities on Saturday. Al-Khazali is a senior member of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, or the League of the Righteous, which has been linked to the kidnapping of five British civilian contractors at the Iraqi Ministry of Finance in Baghdad in May 2007. The BBC described the development as 'breakthrough,' even though the authorities in Britain and the US had insisted that there would be no 'tit-for-tat' releases. 'The government of Iraq is engaged in a reconciliation process with groups willing to set aside violence in favour of political engagement,' the Foreign Office said. 'Part of the process is the releasing of coalition detainees, or their transfer into the custody of the government of Iraq.'

Middle East News

Release of Iraqi militant sparks hostage hopes in Britain

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