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Australian Hostage Is Rescued in Baghdad
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After he was freed, Wood was handed over to U.S. forces -- who played only a supporting role in the rescue -- and was taken to a hospital for treatment, said Lt. Col. Steve Boylan, a U.S. military spokesman. "From what we understand, he is in relatively good health," Boylan said.
Warner, the Australian diplomat, said Wood had been blindfolded and handcuffed throughout his captivity and "had not been well looked after." He declined to comment on whether Wood had been tortured.
More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.
Wood was abducted 47 days ago while eating lunch in Baghdad. A group calling itself the Shura Council of Mujaheddin asserted responsibility and demanded the withdrawal of U.S. and Australian troops from Iraq. It later released a video of Wood appealing to U.S. and Australian officials for help.
Warner said his team arrived in early May to try to negotiate Wood's release. Taj al-din al-Hilali, an Australian cleric with the title grand mufti, also traveled to Baghdad to appeal to religious leaders for help.
Warner said his team received a video on May 29 proving that Wood was alive, along with what Warner described as a request for "a very, very large ransom."
"At no time was any ransom paid by the Australian government, nor were there any political or other concessions made by the Australian government to those holding Mr. Wood," Warner said. About 1,000 Australian troops are based in Iraq. Warner said the incident would have no impact on his country's policy.
Meanwhile Wednesday, Iraqi forces also announced the capture of a man they described as a military adviser to Jordanian insurgent leader Abu Musab Zarqawi. Abid Dawoud Salman, a former Iraqi army general, was arrested with his son, a former military captain, in Khaldiyah, west of Baghdad.
And in an incident first reported by the Agence France-Presse news service, the Association of Muslim Scholars, an influential Sunni Arab religious group, said on its Web site that U.S. and Iraqi troops raided the home of its leader, Harith Dhari, on Tuesday. No arrests were reported.
Special correspondents Bassam Sebti, Naseer Nouri and Omar Fekeiki in Baghdad, Dlovan Brwari in Mosul and Marwan Ani in Kirkuk contributed to this report.
