Hostages freed in Iraq

2004-10-20 17:25

Baghdad - Two Egyptian hostages were freed on Wednesday after a month in captivity, their employer the telecom giant Orascom said.

"They were freed and given to us," an Orascom spokesperspn said.

Suspected al-Qaeda operative Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi's Tawhid wal Jihad group had intervened on their behalf with their kidnappers who were from another group, the spokesperson said.

The two were kidnapped in late September in Baghdad, the day after six other Orascom employees - four Egyptians and two Iraqis - were snatched in western Iraq.

The others were later freed

- AFP