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Two Simonas Released
Two Italian female aid workers held hostage in Iraq for the last three weeks have been released. The two women were handed over to the Italian Red Cross in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and are in good health, officials said. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said they were expected to return to Italy later on Tuesday. The two Iraqi aid workers seized with the two women had also been freed, Mr Berlusconi said. He described the release of the two women as a "moment of joy". "The two girls are well and will be able to return to their loved ones tonight," he said at a news conference in Rome. Simona Torretta's sister reacted swiftly on Italian television, expressing her joy at the news her sister had survived her ordeal.The fate of both aid workers captured the hearts of Italians this month and over the last week itself there has been a rollercoaster of emotions, says the BBC's Guto Harri in Rome. Initial reports suggested they had both been killed, followed by reports, first from Kuwait then from Jordan, suggesting they were alive and well and would be released, our correspondent says. Two French journalists, apparently captured by the same group, are still being held while there is no news of UK hostage Ken Bigley, who has been threatened with beheading. Posted by: Bulldog 2004-09-28 |
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