Agence France-Presse,
BASRA, Iraq: Iraqi security forces freed a British journalist kidnapped two months ago in the main southern city of Basra on Monday after a fierce firefight with his abductors, Iraqi officials said.
Richard Butler was found after the 30-minute gunbattle in a room handcuffed and with a hood over his head, senior Iraqi commander in Basra, Lieutenant General Mohan al-Fraiji, told AFP.
Soon after his release, Butler was shown on state television Al-Iraqiya surrounded by Iraqi military officials who hugged and applauded him before sitting down with the journalist to share a meal.
The tousle-haired Butler, who had been on assignment with US television network CBS when he was abducted along with his Iraqi translator on February 10, praised the soldiers who had freed him.
“The Iraqi army stormed the house and overcame my guards and then burst through the door,” said a smiling Butler.
“I had my hood on, which I had to have on all the time. And they shouted something at me and I pulled my hood off.”
Looking healthy, Butler added: “I am looking forward to seeing my family and my friends at CBS.”
“We are incredibly grateful that our colleague, Richard Butler, has been released and is safe,” CBS said in a statement.
The photographer was later taken to the British base at Basra airport where he was given a medical examination, a British official said.
Iraqi defence ministry spokesman Major General Mohammed al-Askari said on state television that troops from the army's Fourteenth Division raided Basra's Jubaiyia neighbourhood earlier on Monday.
The action was part of extensive operations by Iraqi police and soldiers against areas under the control of the Madhi Army militia of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr launched on March 25 under orders of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
“There was some indication that there was a target there, but we didn't know it was the British journalist,” Askari said.
“Our forces advanced towards a house and were confronted by heavy fire from four gunmen. The fight lasted for 30 minutes. One of them was arrested but the three others fled. One was wounded.
“When we entered the house, we found the British journalist. He is in good health. We have handed him over to a British general.”
General Mohan told AFP that troops were in pursuit of the gunmen who fled.
“We arrested one guard but our forces are chasing the other three terrorists,” he said. “We found the British man in a room handcuffed and with a hood over his head.”
The release of Butler comes as a significant boost for the Iraqi security forces, who have been criticised for their handling of operations in Basra.
The US commander in Iraq General David Petraeus said last week that Maliki disregarded US advice and launched his troops into the fight without adequate preparation.
The campaign quickly stalled with large numbers of police and army troops deserting or refusing to fight. The bitter street battles in which hundreds of people were killed subsided on March 30 after Sadr pulled his fighters off the streets.
On Sunday, the Iraqi government announced that 1,300 policemen and soldiers had been dismissed for failing in their duties during the Basra crackdown.
The British Ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Burns, said Butler was now being cared for by coalition forces “in our medical facilities.”
“We are delighted at this news and wish to pay tribute to the alertness and professionalism of the Iraqi Army units who recovered Mr Butler,” Burns said in a statement.
Butler and his Iraqi interpreter, whose name has not been officially released, were kidnapped from Basra's Palace Sultan hotel by 10 armed and masked men.
Sadr's Basra office struck a deal with the kidnappers who released the interpreter three days after the abductions.
Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said that last year 25 journalists and media assistants were kidnapped in Iraq and that a total of 208 have been killed in connection with their work since the US-led invasion of 2003.
