Monday , 14 /04 /2008  Time 8:05:52

Baghdad, Apr 14, (VOI) - A British journalist, held captive for two months by gunmen in the southern port city of Basra, was freed by Iraqi army forces sweeping the city in a crackdown on militants, an Iraqi military spokesman said.

“A force from the Iraqi army 14^th division released the kidnapped British journalist Richard Butler,” Brig. Gen. Mohamed al-Askari, spokesman for the Iraqi Defense Ministry, told Aswat  al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).
Richard Butler, a photographer on assignment for the U.S. network CBS, was seized by unknown militants along with  his interpreter from their hotel in the center of Basra. The interpreter was freed within days.
 “Butler was freed during a military operation conducted by the Iraqi army in Jubaila district, central Basra,” said al-Askari. “He is now in good health and with Iraqi troops.”
The military spokesman did not provide information on whether the kidnappers were arrested, nor the affiliation of the group involved in the kidnapping.
A source from the British Embassy in Baghdad, who preferred anonymity, noted “the journalist is at the British military hospital in Basra.”
The source added, “Butler’s family was informed of his release,” stressing that “the British Foreign ministry will release a statement about the operation soon.”
Three weeks, Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki launched a major crackdown on militants in Basra dubbed as Saulat al-Fursan (Knights’ Assault). The operation pitted Iraqi forces against militiamen loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The heavy fighting spread to Baghdad and major southern cities, claiming the lives of more than 400 people. 
The rescue of Butler, one of the few Westerners who dared to venture out in Basra in years without a military convoy, was a symbol of triumph for the Iraqi government in a city that controls Iraq's only port and 80 percent of its oil revenue.
Basra, the capital city of Basra province, lies 550 km south Baghdad.
AM/SR