Naharnet - Army Frees 3 Abducted Iraqis after Gunfight with Kidnappers in Wadi Khaled - May 22, 2011

Army troops managed Sunday to liberate three Iraqi nationals abducted on May 20 in the northern border town of al-Bqaiaa after a gunfight with the kidnappers in neighboring Wadi Khaled, the Army Command's Orientation Directorate said in a statement.
"After the army's intelligence directorate acquired information about the disappearance of three Iraqi citizens in the al-Bqaiaa area on May 20, the directorate conducted a series of investigations that led to locating them," the orientation directorate said in its statement.

The three "appeared to be Iraqis carrying the Swedish citizenship," the directorate noted.

Following the investigations, "an army unit raided several locations in Wadi Khaled this afternoon … and managed to liberate (the abductees) after an exchange of gunfire with the nine kidnappers, who were all arrested after one of them was wounded" in the gunfight, the directorate clarified.

"The detainees are being interrogated under the supervision of the relevant judicial authorities in order to unveil the incident's circumstances and motivations," it added.