Kidnapped journalist freed as Iraqi forces storm house in Basra

Published on 14/04/2008 22:50

A BRITISH journalist taken hostage in Iraq two months ago was yesterday freed in a dramatic rescue operation by Iraqi security forces.

Richard Butler, a freelance photojournalist, was found with a sack over his head and his hands tied at a house in Basra after a 30-minute firefight between an army patrol and his captors.

Mr Butler, pictured right, later appeared on state television to praise troops from Iraq's 14th Army division.

He said: "The Iraqi army stormed the house. They burst through the door. I had my hood on, which I had to have on all the time. I pulled the hood off and they ran me down the road."

Mr Butler was abducted along with his interpreter, who was freed after three days, from a hotel in the city centre on 10 February while on assignment for the US television network CBS News.

He was found during a routine Iraqi military sweep in the Jibiliya area of Basra, a Shia militia stronghold. Mohammed al-Askari, a Defence Ministry spokesman, said an army patrol conducting a search came under fire from the house where Mr Butler was being held.

Last night, David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, welcomed Mr Butler's release and said he was "very grateful" to the Iraqi security forces.