GERMANY: Two German hostages kidnapped in Iraq arrived home yesterday as Iraq's ambassador to Germany claimed a "load of money" had been paid to secure their release.
Alaa al-Hashimi said the German government had handed over a "large amount" to the kidnappers of René Braunlich and Thomas Nitzschke, who were freed on Tuesday after 99 days in captivity. "Regarding the payment of ransom, I don't know. But I assume it was a large amount of money," the ambassador told Germany's ARD public television station. The Iraqi government had no part in the release, he said.
The claim is likely to provoke fresh debate over whether western governments should pay for the release of hostages or refuse to negotiate with kidnappers.
Mr Braunlich (32) and Mr Nitzschke (28) arrived at Tegel airport in Berlin yesterday looking pale and exhausted, but apparently unharmed. "We are very happy to be alive. It was something we didn't take for granted," said Mr Braunlich. The engineers, from Leipzig, were seized on January 24th outside their workplace, an Iraqi-owned detergent factory in the town of Baiji.