The British hostage, Norman Kember, and his two Canadian colleagues were free on Thursday night after a rescue mission led by the SAS into one of the most dangerous parts of Baghdad. The troops found the three tied up but unharmed. No shots were fired. The kidnappers had fled, apparently on hearing troops arrive, according to a British official.
In a statement issued by the British embassy, where he was staying overnight, Kember said: ”It’s great to be free. I am looking forward to getting back to the UK.”
He was held for four months by an Islamist group, part of the Sunni Muslim insurgency, who threatened to execute him and his two colleagues unless all Iraqi prisoners were released. A fourth hostage, an American, Tom Fox, was found shot dead in Baghdad two weeks ago.
The breakthrough came when two Iraqis, alleged to be part of the kidnap gang, were caught by coalition forces on Wednesday night; one of them provided the location of the hostages. The coalition forces have been holding several other alleged members of the gang in custody for some time, though the British government has not divulged this until now. Ministers said the release was the result of a month-long intelligence operation.
A British official said the SAS-led operation, which included US and Canadian special forces, had been extremely risky. The British government, normally coy about confirming the presence of special service troops in an operation, on Thursday volunteered that the SAS had led the operation.
Kember’s wife, Pat said: ”It’s wonderful news. I was getting pessimistic. I was beginning to feel nothing was happening and I was getting worried. The support I have had from everybody has been so wonderful.”
Bruce Kent, who has known Kember for 15 years, told of the family’s darkest time in March. ”The worst point was after the murder of Tom Fox, it looked like they were going to kill them one by one,” Kent said. – Guardian Unlimited Â