Peter Moore is Alive and Free!

Wonderful news after two and a half years of waiting and praying! Via BBC:

British hostage Peter Moore has been released alive from captivity in Iraq, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said.

He said Mr Moore, an IT consultant from Lincoln who was seized in Baghdad in May 2007, was in good health and "absolutely delighted at his release".

Mr Miliband said the Moore family felt deep relief after two-and-a-half years of "misery, fear and uncertainty".

Mr. Moore was kidnapped along with his four security guards in May 2007 after Shi'ite militia members dressed as Iraqi policemen stormed the Ministry of Finance where he was working as a computer consultant. At one point British officials believed the 5 men had been taken to Iran, who sponsored the Shi'ite insurgency, but earlier this year the bodies of three of the hostages were discovered in Baghdad.

There is no word yet on the fate of the remaining hostage, Alan McMenemy, although officials fear that he is dead.

Thank God for this long-awaited answer to prayer! Please continue to pray for Mr. McMenemy and his family who are still enduring the pain and uncertainty that accompanies these hostage ordeals, and please remember the families of the fallen hostages, Jason Cresswell, Jason Swindlehurst, and Alec Maclachlan. And please continue to pray for the protection and safe return of all the hostages in Iraq and around the world.

Body Indentified as British Hostage

Autopsy results have identified a body handed over to British authorities in Baghdad earlier this week as Alec MacLachlan, one of five hostages held captive by Shiite militants since May 2007. Via Wales Online:

A body handed to the British authorities in Iraq is that of Alec MacLachlan, Gordon Brown confirmed tonight.

The Prime Minister announced with "deepest regret" that Mr MacLachlan’s remains had been identified.

He vowed to bring the terrorists responsible for the murder to justice and said the thoughts of the whole country were with Mr MacLachlan’s family.

Mr Brown said: "It’s with the deepest regret that the body passed to the British Embassy is now discovered to be that of Alec MacLachlan. My thoughts, and I believe the thoughts of the whole country, are with the family at this time of great grief.

"No family should have to endure what they have gone through, the loss through the hostage taking then the period of silence and not knowing what is happening and now to find that their loved one is lost."

Mr. MacLachlan was one of four bodyguards hired to protect IT specialist Peter Moore, whom was working at the Finance Ministry in Baghdad. The bodies of Jason Creswell and Jason Swindlehurst were delivered to the British in June of this year. The British government reported in July that it believed Mr. McLachlan and fellow hostage Alan McMenemy were dead, although they could not confirm it at the time. There is no word yet on the fate of Mr. Moore.

It is heartbreaking to see this tragic conclusion to the ordeal that these men and their families have suffered through for so long. We pray for the comfort and consolation of Mr. MacLachlan's family and loved ones, and continue to pray for the families of the other men who lost their lives. Please continue to pray for all the hostages still held in captivity throughout the world.

Iraqi Boy Kidnapped, Tortured for Two Years Before Rescue

An incredible story of both cruelty and courage from Iraq: the 8-year-old child of an Iraqi policeman describes his two years of captivity at the hands of Al Qaeda terrorists who tried to pressure his father into freeing captured insurgents. Via CNN:

FALLUJA, Iraq (CNN) -- Like many young boys, Khidir loves playing with toy cars and wants to be a policeman like his father when he grows up. But it was his father's very job that caused the tiny child to suffer the unimaginable.

Khidir was just 6 years old when he was savagely ripped away from his family, kidnapped by al Qaeda operatives in Iraq.

"They beat me with a shovel, they pulled my teeth out with pliers, they would go like this and pull it," said Khidir, now 8, demonstrating with his hands. "And they would make me work on the farm gathering carrots."

What followed was even more horrific, an ordeal that would last for two years in captivity. Khidir and his father spoke to CNN recently, more than half a year after his rescue by Iraqi police.

"This is where they hammered a nail into my leg and then they pulled it out," he says, lifting up his pant leg to show a tiny wound.

He says his captors also pulled out each of his tiny fingernails, broke both his arms, and beat him repeatedly on the side of the head with a shovel. He still suffers chronic headaches. He remembers them laughing as they inflicted the pain.

"I would think about my mommy and daddy," he replies, when asked how he managed to get through the agony.

Khadir's father, Abdul, was contacted by the kidnappers, who threatened to slit Khadir's throat if he did not release captured Al Qaeda prisoners in police custody. He refused, and assumed the worst, thinking his son had been murdered.

But a tip earlier this year led to the rescue of Khadir and other children held hostage by Al Qaeda. Thank God for this miraculous intervention that freed Khadir and the other children from their suffering and restored them to the families who had believed they were dead.

Please continue to pray for all the hostages in Iraq and the other war-torn parts of the world, especially those hostages known only to God.

Remains of Capt. Scott Speicher Recovered

The remains of Navy Captain Michael Scott Speicher have been returned to the US and positively identified more than 18 years after his jet was shot down during the First Gulf War in 1981. Via CNN:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The remains of the first American shot down in the 1991 Persian Gulf War have been uncovered, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Sunday.

U.S. Navy Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher was shot down in an F/A-18 Hornet on January 17, 1991, the first night of the war.

The announcement early Sunday of the discovery of Speicher's remains ends more than 18 years of speculation about whether Speicher may have survived the crash and been held captive, or died in captivity in the ensuing years.

"The news that Captain Speicher's remains have been recovered is a reminder of the selfless service that led him to make the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom," President Obama said in a statement. Video Watch: Naval aviator's remains found »

"I am grateful to the [U.S.] Marines who pursued the information that led to Captain Speicher's recovery so that he can now come home. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, and I hope that the recovery of his remains will bring them a needed sense of closure," Obama said.

Speicher's family thanked the military in a statement Sunday, saying Speicher "was a brave and wonderful father, husband, and naval officer who responded without hesitation when his country needed him. ... We thank the active duty men and women whose diligence has made this happen, and hope that this process has prevented another of our service men and women from being left behind.

"We will miss him, and will never forget. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers."

Our condolences to Capt. Speicher's family and loved ones who have endured so patiently during these long years, and our thanks to the Marines who never gave up searching for him and were able to bring him home at last.

Two More British Hostages Believed Dead

Tragic news from Iraq as the families of two more of the British hostages kidnapped in Baghdad in 2007 have been told that their loved ones are now believed to have killed by their captors. Via BBC:

The families of five Britons kidnapped in Iraq say they are "deeply upset" to hear two more of the men are likely to have died in captivity.

Government sources told the BBC that security guards Alan McMenemy, from Glasgow, and Alec Maclachlan, from south Wales, were believed dead.

They were kidnapped in 2007 with three others, two of whom have since been shot and their bodies released.

The condition of the fifth man, Peter Moore, from Lincoln, remains unknown.

The Foreign Office says it is still trying to secure the release of all the remaining men.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said British officials were doing their "absolute level best" through a variety of channels to bring the hostages to safety.

This is particularly upsetting as the US recently released 5 Iranian prisoners who were responsible for the kidnapping and murder of American soldiers in order to win the release of the British hostages, and once again shows the not surprising complete lack of good faith that the terrorists have been negotiating in.

Our deepest condolences to the families of Mr. Maclachlan and Mr. McMenemy. Please continue to pray for the safety of the remaining hostage, Peter Moore, and for justice to brought to the murderers of these men.

Previous:
Bodies of Two British Hostages Identified
British Hostages May Be Free Soon
New Video of Kidnapped Britons Sent to Embassy
Hostage News Updates 11/19/08
Kidnappers Offer to Trade Body of Hostage for Iraqi Prisoners
British Hostages Moved, Separated
British Officials Claim They Were Close to Hostage Rescue
British Hostage Has Killed Himself
British Intelligence Blew Chance for Hostage Rescue
Iraqi Official: 5 British Hostages Are Alive
Time to End the Silence
Captors of British Hostages Respond to Families
Former Captive Speaks Out: Silence Won't Release the Hostages
One Year of Captivity for British Hostages
New Push to Rescue British Hostages
New Plea for British Hostages
Iran Denies Holding British Hostages
Five British Hostages Feared to Be in Hands of Revolutionary Guard
British Hostages Believed to be Moved From Iraq to Iran
CBS Journalists Kidnapped in Basra
Arabic TV Shows British Hostage Video
British, Iraqi Prime Ministers Discuss Hostages
We Will Never Forget You
Pray for the Hostages
Families of Kidnapped Britons Hope for Christmas Miracle
British PM Demands Release of Hostages
Families of British Hostages Send Message
Video Released of British Hostages (Updated with Video)
British Hostages to Be Free Soon?
Three Shiites Arrested for Kidnapping Brits
Family of British Hostage Pleads for His Release
Abducted Britons Believed to be Held by "Shiite Zarqawi"
Johnston: my prayers for forgotten hostages
Kidnapped Brits Held by "Iran-Backed" Killers
Britons kidnapped by gunmen in Baghdad
British, German Hostages Seized in Iraq

Bodies of Two British Hostages Identified

In a tragic turn of events from Baghdad, two bodies turned over to British authorities Saturday have been identified as men kidnapped in Iraq more than two years ago. Via Times Online:

The remains of two British men kidnapped in Iraq two years ago are "highly likely" to be those of the security guards Jason Creswell and Jason Swindlehurst .

The fate of three other hostages seized at the same time – Peter Moore and two men known only as Alan and Alec – is still unknown.

“It is with deep regret that we have today informed the families of the hostages that, based on very strong indications, the two bodies recovered are highly likely to be those of Jason Creswell, originally from Glasgow, and Jason Swindlehurst, originally from Skelmersdale,” the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said in a statement.

“We continue to do everything we can towards the safe release of the other hostages.”

The kidnappers said last year that one of the Jasons had committed suicide – a claim that was never verified. The announcement that both Jasons were dead came as a surprise to officials and a devastating blow for the families.

It is unclear how the two men, security guards for GardaWorld, a Canadian company, died. Sources said that their bodies were decomposed, indicating that they could have been dead for several months.

This is a particularly cruel blow, as hopes were raised for the release of the group over the past two weeks when the US freed Laith al-Khazali, one of the Shiite insurgents who ambushed and murdered 5 American soldiers at Karbala in January 2007. His release, along with 4 other prisoners, was one of the demands of the Iranian-backed militia which carried out the May 2007 abduction of computer consultant Peter Moore and his four bodyguards.

Our deepest condolences to the families of Mr. Creswell and Mr. Swindlehurst, and our fervent prayers for the protection and rescue of the remaining hostages.