NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND 7115 South Boundary Boulevard MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101 Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 |
| May 3, 2004 Release Number: 04-05-04 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FIRST INFANTRY DIVISION SOLDIERS RECOVER KBR HOSTAGE TIKRIT, Iraq - At approximately 11:15 a.m. yesterday near Balad, a patrol from Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment from the New York Army National Guard and assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team was operating in Balad when they were approached by a wounded man claiming to be an American. The man identified himself as Thomas Hamill, a Kellogg Brown and Root driver who had been taken hostage by anti-coalition forces on April 9. Hamill took the patrol to the house where he had been held captive. The unit conducted a hasty cordon and search of the area and detained two Iraqi citizens with one AK-47 rifle. The patrol called for a medevac helicopter and Hamill was transported to a nearby military base and subsequently to Baghdad. He is in stable condition. -30- |
