AUSTRALIAN hostage Douglas Wood who was kidnapped in Iraq has been released in a military operation, Prime Minister John Howard told parliament tonight.

Mr Howard said Mr Wood was under the protection of an Australian team sent to Baghdad to negotiate his release.

"He's now under the protection of the Australian emergency response team in Baghdad," he told parliament.

"I understand that he is well, he's undergoing medical checks at the present time."

Mr Howard said Australians would be jubilant about the news of Mr Wood's release.

"I want on behalf of all of the parliament to pay tribute to the dignity and strength of his family."

A spokesman for Mr Wood's family said they heard the news about his release about 6pm AEST.

"They haven't spoken to him yet but I understand that all of the family know in all parts of the world."

News of his ordeal first became public in when his captors released a DVD showing him pleading for his life.

The government sent a special taskforce to Iraq, headed by prominent diplomat Nick Warner, to work to free Mr Wood.

The Mufti of Australia, Sheik Taj Aldin Alhilali, has also been in and around Iraq for a month in an effort to secure Mr Wood's release.

"I want to reiterate our commitment to the stability and the reconstruction of Iraq and to the Iraqi people who are daily the victims of terrorism and crime," Mr Howard said.

He said he had been trying to contact Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al Jaafari to thank him for his country's help in securing Mr Wood's release.

"I hope very shortly to express my thanks for the efforts of his forces and may I record again our thanks to our American friends for their constant support and availability and cooperation," Mr Howard said.

"It is a wonderful outcome for this man who suffered so much and it's a tribute to the work of our Iraqi and American friends that this has come about."

He also paid tribute to the efforts of Australia's Islamic community and the Australian mufti, Sheikh Taj Aldin Alhilali.

"I also place on record my appreciation for the efforts of the Australian Islamic community and of Sheik Taj Alhilali.

"Many people have tried. We are overwhelmed with relief - nothing compared, of course, with the relief his family must now feel."

Opposition Leader Kim Beazley said many thought there would be no happy ending when the terrible saga began.

Mr Beazley said Labor was very conscious of the government's efforts to facilitate Mr Wood's release.

"We join with the prime minister in the congratulations and thanks that he extended to various people who played a role in all of this including... the Australian-Islamic community," he said.

"From the outset the opposition said that the circumstances of Mr Wood's capture and imprisonment were such that no government could tolerate or give in to or adjust policy in any way associated with it.

"It is not the right thing to do to negotiate a change in policy of the basis of a terrorist act. Nor is it appropriate to pay ransom in those circumstances."

Mr Beazley said that remained Labor's view despite the differences between with the government over Iraq.

"You cannot have your politics in any way shaped by the actions of evil people," he said.

Mr Beazley said the lion's share of tributes must go to the Wood family who had been extraordinarily resourceful and brave.

"They have been people who no felt the depths of despair and desperation as the days and weeks went by," he said.

"It would have been enormously easy in those circumstances for that frustration to in some shape or form break out into a disagreement with how affairs were being handled. That never happened."

Prime Minister John Howard announced the release of Australian hostage Douglas Wood in Iraq tonight. Following is the full text of his address to Parliament:

Mr Speaker, I am delighted to inform the House that the Australian hostage in Iraq Mr Douglas Wood is safe from his captors. Mr Wood was recovered a short while ago in Baghdad in a military operation that I’m told was conducted by Iraqi forces, in cooperation in a general way with force elements of the United States.

He’s now under the protection of the Australian Emergency Response Team in Baghdad. I understand that he is well. He’s undergoing medical checks at the present time. I know that all Australians will be jubilant at this news. This man has suffered immensely and I want on behalf of all of the Parliament to pay tribute to the dignity and strength of his family. He comes from a deeply impressive family and the strength and resolve and courage that his brothers and the other members of his family have displayed, their understanding of the difficulty of this whole incident for all involved has been, I can only say, very deeply impressive.

The cooperation between the Government and the members of his family I want to record I appreciate very much. That we, of course, have focused very much on his wellbeing and returning him to his family. I don’t at this stage, for operational reasons want to comment further on the circumstances of his recovery.

I want to place on record the Government’s great appreciation to the officers of the Government who have done such wonderful work. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has displayed superb professionalism throughout this whole incident. The work of Mr Nick Warner who has been the head of the Emergency Response Team has been quite exemplary and I want to pay a special tribute to Nick. He’s an officer who’s known to many of us and he’s done great things for Australia, not only in Iraq, but also in the Solomon Islands. I want of course to thank the Special Forces and the other members of the Emergency Response Team that went to Iraq. Brigadier McCabe and all of the units in Iraq that have been associated with this.

Can I also pay special tribute to the contribution of the Minister for Foreign Affairs who has had the day-to-day carriage of this on behalf of the Government and may I also thank the Opposition, the Leader of the Opposition and the Member for Griffith for their understanding at every stage of the difficulties involved and the need for us to unite to save an Australian and this has brought out some of the best things in our people. I also place on record my appreciation for the efforts of the Australian Islamic community and of Sheik Al Hilaly.

Many people have tried, we are overwhelmed with relief, nothing compared of course with the relief that his family must now feel. Can I also say that at no stage has a ransom been paid, at no stage has the Government compromised its position in relation to our commitment to Iraq, the level of our force commitment and I want to reiterate our commitment to the stability and reconstruction of Iraq and to the Iraqi people who are daily, the victims of terrorism and crime.

I did endeavour before making this statement to contact the Iraqi Prime Minister. I'll do so, I hope very shortly to express my thanks for the efforts of his forces and may I record again our thanks to our American friends for their constant support and availability and cooperation, it is a wonderful outcome for this man who suffered so much and it’s a tribute to the work of our Iraqi and American friends that this has come about.

Thank you, America, for helping to bring one of our people home.

An article that includes most of the same exact quotes and information appears in Australia’s liberal Sydney Morning Herald. What’s quite interesting is that the following quote from this article has been curiously excised from the SMH story:

"I hope very shortly to express my thanks for the efforts of his forces and may I record again our thanks to our American friends for their constant support and availability and cooperation," Mr Howard said.

"It is a wonderful outcome for this man who suffered so much and it's a tribute to the work of our Iraqi and American friends that this has come about."

So Mr. Howard’s praise of American forces was not worthy of inclusion. It was replaced by the following quote instead:

Mr Howard paid tribute to the efforts of Australia's Islamic community and the mufti. "I also place on record my appreciation for the efforts of the Australian Islamic community and of Sheikh Taj Alhilali.

Just interesting to note what information the editors at the Sydney Morning Herald decide to share with their readers.

From the link I just posted at #19:

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The raid took place as part of Operation Lightning - a broader counterinsurgency operation that began in Baghdad on May 29, Warner said. He added there "was specific intelligence and tips that provided a hint at what might be found at that location."

Wood was freed by the Iraqi army's 2nd battalion, 1st Armored Brigade, with assistance by U.S. forces in Ghazaliya - one of the most dangerous Sunni Arab neighborhood of Baghdad, Warner said. He added that "no ransom was paid" despite a request for a "very large" amount of money.

Wood was found under a blanket and the insurgents told troops he was their sick father, said Gen. Naseer al-Abadi, Iraq's deputy chief of staff. The operation also resulted in the arrest of three insurgents and release of an Iraqi hostage.

"This is a great day for Iraq. We are proud of the way our soldiers conducted themselves," al-Abadi said.

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