Former hostage says she will return to Iraq

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http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2005/December/focusoniraq_December181.xml§ion=focusoniraq&col=

Cairo - Archeologist and ex-hostage Susanne Osthoff who was freed two weeks ago in Iraq told Al Jazeera on Monday that she will return to the war-torn country.

Dismissing the threats foreign nationals are subject to in Iraq, Osthoff expressed her wish to continue her archeological work on Iraqi sites.

Osthoff said she was well-treated by her kidnappers, especially after she discussed with them the fact that Germany is not part of the war coalition. Her abductors’ realization that she was not a political figure eventually led to her release.

She told Al Jazeera that her captors had first to verify her identity first and when they learned she was an archeologist, they transferred her to a safer and cleaner location.