Spanish Newsman Released, Troops Leave Iraq

21/05/2004| IslamWeb

Spanish radio journalist has been released from the Iraqi city of Najaf by his captors as Spanish troops head out of the war-torn country. Spanish state radio said its correspondent Fran Sevilla, who reported the Spanish troops' withdrawal from their base at Diwaniya earlier on Friday, was in good health He was reportedly held by a group loyal to Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr for four hours. Earlier on Friday Sevilla reported from Diwaniya that the last of the Spanish troops had left their base and were on their way to Kuwait. He said he was the last Spaniard left in the south-central Iraqi city. The soldiers were among the last remaining in Iraq from a force of up to 1400 sent by the previous pro-American government. They had been stationed in a largely Shia Muslim area of south-central Iraq, including the cities of Najaf and Diwaniya. **Campaign promise*** Spain's month-old Socialist government - elected three days after the 11 March train bombings killed 191 people in Madrid - has been withdrawing the troops, fulfilling a campaign promise made before the railway attacks. Defence Minister Jose Bono said the withdrawal would be completed by 26 May, but officials have said it will over by Friday night. The United States had urged Spain to reconsider the pullout but Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who has called the war a fiasco, would not be moved. On Thursday, Spanish troops in the process of withdrawing came under attack from suspected Iraqi anti-occupation fighters. One attacker was killed and another seriously wounded and one Spanish soldier was slightly wounded in the attack. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Spanish troops wait to cross into Kuwait along the Iraq-Kuwait border. (AFP)