French Iraq hostage released

Florence Aubenas

A French journalist and her Iraqi driver who were held hostage in Iraq for five months have been released, France's foreign ministry said on yesterday.

"Florence Aubenas is on her way to France," a spokeswoman for the French foreign ministry told Reuters.

Her Iraqi driver Hussein Hanun al-Saadi was also released, she said. He stayed in Iraq with his family.

Aubenas and her driver were taken hostage after leaving their Baghdad hotel on Jan. 5.

Little had been known about their fate since then. Insurgents in Iraq released video footage of Aubenas on March 1. Looking distraught and fragile, she made an appeal for help.

About 150 foreigners have been seized in Iraq over the last two years. Many more Iraqis have been abducted.

- REUTERS