Saudis among hunters freed

Riyadh : Two Saudis were among a mainly Qatari hunting party freed after a 16-month hostage ordeal in Iraq, Saudi media reported yesterday.

The 26 hunters, initially believed to be all Qataris, were flown to Doha on Friday after being handed over to Iraqi authorities. Jeddah-based newspaper Okaz named the two Saudis as Salem bin Abdulhadi al-Merri and Mohammed Abdullah al-Merri and said they were expected to be flown home to the Kingdom. The Saudi Press Agency also began referring to the hunting party as “Qatari and Saudi” yesterday but did not give further details. A foreign ministry spokesman was not immediately reachable for comment. The hunting party, who are believed to have included one or more prominent members of the Qatari royal family, were kidnapped in southern Iraq in December 2015. There was never any formal claim of responsibility but the abduction was widely linked to Shiite militias with ties to Tehran.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain welcomed “the release of the Qatari and Saudi nationals kidnapped in Iraq, expressing sincere congratulations to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the families of the released.” The Ministry said it highly appreciated the great and successful efforts exerted by Qatar that led to the release of the Qatari and Saudi nationals and their return to their country and their families in good health.