Militants free French hostage

2006-01-08 10:36

Baghdad - A French engineer - taken hostage in Iraq last month by militants who mistakenly denounced the "illegal French presence" in the country - has been found.

Iraqi police spokesperson Major Falah al-Mohammadawi said the engineer was found in a car several men had fled from at a checkpoint in the western Baghdad suburb of Abu Ghraib on Saturday.

Bernard Planche works for a non-governmental organization.

He was kidnapped on December 5 on his way to work at a Baghdad water plant.

When his captors first released a video of Planche, they denounced the "illegal French presence" in Iraq.

In a plea for Planche's release though, France's foreign minister stressed France has no military presence in Iraq.

In his traditional New Year's Eve address on television, French president Jacques Chirac sent a special message to Planche's family, saying France was "fully mobilised to obtain his freedom".

Last month, Planche's daughter and brother pleaded for his release in an interview on an Arab TV news channel.

- AP