Iraqi and American forces spotted a form huddled beneath a blanket when they raided a home in a dangerous Sunni neighborhood Wednesday. The residents insisted it was their ailing father -- but the unfazed troops knew they'd found their man: Australian hostage Grand Mufti Sheik Taj al-din al-Hilali Douglas Wood.| "Hey Sarge! Lookee over there in the corner...he don't look like family." |
Wood, 64, wearing a tan dishdasha, or traditional Arab robe, and with his head shaved, was smiling broadly as he was freed following 47 days in captivity. | As well he should be. Welcome back, Mr. Wood. |
But he was weak and U.S. troops, including a medic, had to support the haggard-looking engineer as he was led to a waiting American armored personnel carrier. "He has been blindfolded, handcuffed, he has not been well looked after," Australia's counterterrorism chief Nick Warner said. "Wood is now resting comfortably and is in a safe location in Baghdad," Warner said. "He's as well as you could expect ... He's undergoing medical and psychological assessment and he's receiving the best of care." In a statement read by Warner, Wood, a longtime resident of Alamo, Calif., said: "I'm extremely happy and relieved to be free again and deeply grateful to all those who worked to bring about my release ... It is a sign for the future of Iraq that Iraqi soldiers played a role in my release."
Clues as to Wood's whereabouts emerged after Operation Lightning -- a broad counterinsurgency campaign -- was launched May 29 in Baghdad. Warner cited "specific intelligence and tips that provided a hint at what might be found at that location." He said he did not want to reveal too many details,"I will say no a little bit more!" |
but noted that Wood was rescued from Ghazaliya -- one of Baghdad's most dangerous Sunni Arab neighborhoods, located near the road that links the city to the airport and is considered the capital's most perilous stretch of concrete.
No one was injured in the raid, which was carried out by the Iraqi army's 2nd battalion, 1st Armored Brigade, with assistance from U.S. forces, Warner said. "No ransom was paid" despite a request for a "very large" amount of money, Warner said. It was the first time a ransom demand regarding Wood had been made public. Warner declined to comment on whether Wood, who has a heart condition, was tortured. However, footage released May 7 showed a battered and bruised Wood with two machine guns held to his head. Wood was found under a blanket and the kidnappers initially claimed he was their sick father, said Gen. Naseer al-Abadi, Iraq's deputy chief of staff. Three militants were arrested and an Iraqi hostage also was freed, he said. |