3 CPT Hostages Freed

By: Sam
Published On: 3/23/2006 2:00:00 AM

3 o f the 4 Christian Peacemakers who had been held hostage in Iraq for four months were rescued today by U.S. and British forces.  No shots were fired.  The surviving hostages, Norman Kember, Jim Loney, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, are all receiving medical attention, but it appears that none of them are in bad shape.  The body of Tom Fox, the other hostage, was found two weeks ago in Baghdad.  Obviously, this is a bittersweet occasion, but we can all rejoice that Norman, Jim, and Harmeet will soon be reunited with their families.

Other articles about the rescue are here, here, here, and here.

UPDATE: The CPT has released a statement here.

From that statement:


We rejoice in the return of Harmeet Sooden. He has been willing to put his life on the line to promote justice in Iraq and Palestine as a young man newly committed to active peacemaking.

We rejoice in the return of Jim Loney. He has cared for the marginalized and oppressed since childhood, and his gentle, passionate spirit has been an inspiration to people near and far.

We rejoice in the return of Norman Kember. He is a faithful man, an elder and mentor to many in his 50 years of peacemaking, a man prepared to pay the cost.

We remember with tears Tom Fox, whose body was found in Baghdad on March 9, 2006, after three months of captivity with his fellow peacemakers. We had longed for the day when all four men would be released together. Our gladness today is made bittersweet by the fact that Tom is not alive to join in the celebration. However, we are confident that his spirit is very much present in each reunion.

............

During these past months, we have tasted of the pain that has been the daily bread of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. Why have our loved ones been taken? Where are they being held? Under what conditions? How are they? Will they be released? When?


Amen.

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