Kidnapped Qatari hunting party in Iraq freed
The Qatari hunting party of 26 people that was kidnapped by gunmen in a desert area of Iraq was released after 16 months of incarceration.
The men, who had been kidnapped during a hunting trip in mid-December of 2015, were released back to a Qatari delegation that returned to Doha. Those who were kidnapped included prominent members of the royal family.
The men were suspected to have been kidnapped by a militia with ties to Tehran. Their release was part of a larger deal, which included the evacuation of thousands of people from the government-controlled northern Syrian villages of Fuaa and Kafraya, which rebels are fighting for control over.
Little information was known about the group and their whereabouts, although in April of 2016 the Qatari Foreign Ministry stated that a hunter along with an Asian worker had been released.
The group was seized during a licensed hunting trip for desert falcons by the Saudi border in Iraq, when armed men swept into their camp and took them hostage.
Photo Credit: Reuters
Thanks at last they are free. Al-hamdollilah
Thanks at last they are free. Al-hamdollilah
Well done to the Qatari government
Reminds me of illiterate fishermen caught straying into neighboring countries' territorial waters...
All is well that ends well. We wish them peaceful life with their families back again. Wish the joys return to them at double the rate than before ............ !! Be safe everybody ....... !!