US journalist released in Iraq

March 31, 2006
Freedom ... Carroll as she appeared at her press conference.

US journalist Jill Carroll, released almost 12 weeks after being abducted at gunpoint in Baghdad, appeared on Iraqi television and said she had been treated well during her ordeal."I am happy to be free.

I just want to be with my family quickly," a composed Ms Carroll, wearing a headscarf, told Baghdad Television, a local channel run by the Iraqi Islamic Party at whose office she was dropped off by her captors.

US officials voiced relief at her liberation, saying there had been no negotiation with the kidnappers who snatched Ms Carroll off a Baghdad street on January 7 after killing her interpreter.

In her first interview since being released, Ms Carroll said that during her entire period of captivity she was only allowed to move "between my room and the bathroom".

"I was allowed to read a newspaper only once and watch the television once just to make me aware of what was happening outside," said the 28-year-old freelance journalist who worked for the Christian Science Monitor.

"I had very good treatment. They never hit me. I was kept in a safe place with nice furniture, plenty of food. I was allowed to take showers."

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed "great delight and great relief" at Ms Carroll's release, while the Monitor's editor Richard Bergenheim said: "This is an exciting day. We couldn't be happier."

Islamic Party chief Tariq al-Hashimi, who first announced her release, told Ms Carroll during the television interview "do not forget the Iraqi people".

"What the Iraqi Islamic Party is giving you today is the teaching of Islam," Mr Hashimi said and handed Ms Carroll a Koran, Islam's holy book, as the camera rolled.

Her release came a week after US and British forces rescued three other Western hostages who had been held captive in Iraq for almost four months and followed an emotional appeal by Ms Carroll's twin sister Katie yesterday.

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