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U.S. Military Releases Two Journalists In Iraq

15 January 2006 -- The U.S. military have freed two Iraqi journalists working for international media after holding them for several months.

Ali al-Mashhadani, a cameraman for the British media group Reuters, was arrested in August. Majid Hamid, a correspondent for Reuters and the Dubai-based Al-Arabiyah television, was detained in September.

Reuters says they were held without charge.

A U.S. Army spokesman, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, said Hamid had been suspected to be a threat and was held until he was cleared by a magistrate committee.

Media-rights groups have repeatedly voiced concern at the long and unexplained detentions of journalists by U.S. troops.

(Reuters, AP)

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org