A Qatari citizen kidnapped in Iraq last year with 26 other Qatari nationals has been freed, along with a Pakistani man who was travelling with them, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
A group of 100 unidentified armed men had seized the Qataris from a desert camp while on a hunting
trip in southern Iraq in December.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani is keen on ensuring the safety of the citizens”, adding that “HH the Emir directed to exert every effort for the release of the kidnapped Qatari citizens”.
The statement said that efforts were still going on to free the rest of the 26 kidnapped, expressing Qatar’s hope that these efforts would be crowned with success, according to the official Qatar News Agency (QNA).
“Negotiations are continuing for the release of the others,” a Foreign Ministry official told the Reuters news agency.
The official gave no details of who had captured them or how the release had been secured.
No one has claimed responsibility for the abduction of the hunters, who were seized in a largely desolate expanse of territory.
OFFICIAL
