Thomas Hamill Free from Captors in Iraq!!!!

[Timeout]

Press conference right now announcing Hamill escaped from his captors. That's all right now.

Thanks be to God!

[tiamat]

This is so good!

Thanks for sharing it!

Hey Canteen!

Check it out!

[BigWaveBetty]

Yes, very spectacular! Wonderful news!

Welcome home Thomas Hamill!!

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) U.S. hostage Thomas Hamill was found by U.S. forces south of Tikrit Sunday after he apparently escaped from captors who had been holding him since an attack on a convoy April 9, the U.S. military said.

Hamill, 43, of Macon, Miss., was ''in good health,'' said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt.

Kimmitt said U.S. military units were patrolling a petroleum pipeline when Hamill, a truck driver for Halliburton Corp., approached and identified himself.

''Mr. Hamill apparently escaped from a building,'' Kimmitt said. ''He has spoken to his family. He is now ready to get back to work.''

Hamill was among seven employees of Halliburton subsidiary KBR, formerly known as Kellogg, Brown & Root, missing since an April 9 attack on their convoy west of Baghdad. The bodies of four of the employees have since been found.

Also kidnapped in the attack was a U.S. soldier, Pfc. Keith M. Maupin, whose fate remains unknown. He was seen alive days later in video footage aired on the Arab television station al-Jazeera.

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/123/world/US_hostage_Tommy_Hamill_escape:.shtml

[TomGuy]

[expanded Reuters article]

American Hostage 'Escapes' from Iraqi Captors

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. hostage Thomas Hamill is free three weeks after television pictures showed him being driven away by armed men following an attack on a convoy in Iraq, the U.S. military said Sunday.

"He apparently escaped from a building," Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt told a news conference in Baghdad.

"He came out of a building and identified himself to American soldiers. It looks like an escape," Kimmitt said.

Mississippi farmer Hamill was a truck driver for Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root, which has a major logistics contract with the U.S. military as well as another deal rebuilding the country's shattered oil infrastructure.

[Catspaw]

I can't wait to hear his story as well--but first, he's going to be extensively debriefed by our guys. I hope to heck he's reunited with his family ASAP.

[DollyCali]

Thanks Jane.. I think I am going to watch it here at 9 (I think it is on the local Fox affiliate..non cable)..But just in case, I have a back up..

It is still pouring rain here. I am doing the church service at a nearby retirement center early afternoon... so am skipping my regular services this AM.

[Timeout]

Sorry...it appears the ADMIN changed the title. It appears one way on the forum and a different way on the thread. Too early for this! LOL!

[Miss Marple]

AP diplomatic correspondent Barry Schweib being interviewed by Julian (UGH) on Fox. Not wanting to let any good news go uncontested, Barry says he finds it hard to believe the guy just escaped and hints that perhaps we are negotiating with kidnappers. Julian does his usual liberal agreement. UGH.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Excellent news!! Thanks, tia, for the ping.

[night reader]

Apparently, not rescued; he managed to escape from captors himself.

Not rescued; not released. And he hopefully now can take the cavalry back to where he was held. We need to construct a memorial there. The Thomas Hamill Memorial Pile of Rubble. If the perps are stupid enough to stay put, a lifetime, all expenses paid vacation in southern Cuba seems in order.

[Quilla]

Thanks for the info, Betty. Hopefully Mr. Hamill can shed some light on the whereabouts of Pfc. Keith M. Maupin.

[Allegra]

Thank God, thank God, thank God....

[twntaipan]

Is it just me or does Reuters and AP seem to be spinning this in favor of the terrorists? That doesn't surprise me in the least-- most Western reporters are scum.

[SheLion]

What a glorious Sunday for Thomas and his family. Thank God!!!!!!

[Quilla]

Julian, Julian, Julian.... *shaking head* One third of the reason I don't watch Fox & Friends on the weekend.

[Burkeman1]

Is his "escape" or "release" a clever propaganda point on the side of the insurgents in light of this Iraqi prison scandal?

[Miss Marple]

Yes. Now this jerk is calling the photos of the Iraqi prisoners "atrocities." Ginning up the language on the incident and also acting like this is parallel behavior to Saddam Hussein.

[Diogenesis]

guess who was in town, and wants some credit?

[Miss Marple]

I wouldn't have turned it on except that this is where the news was being reported. I remain fascinated that these three yahoos have jobs in news at all.

[RobFromGa]

no problem

[Diogenesis]

That was Dearborn, Mich.