German hostage freed in Iraq

Susanne Osthoff, the German woman taken hostage in Iraq, has been freed, Germany’s Foreign Minister said tonight.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier did not say how she was freed and left a press conference without taking questions.

“She is no longer in the hands of the kidnappers,” the minister said, adding that she appeared to be in good physical condition.

Earlier Ms Osthoff’s brother Robert Osthoff told German television station N-tv: “My sister is free.”

Robert Osthoff said he had “no idea” how she was freed.

Osthoff disappeared on November 25 in northern Iraq with her Iraqi driver.

Days later, the two were shown in a videotape blindfolded and sitting on a floor, with militants – one armed with a rocket-propelled grenade – standing beside them.

The captors threatened to kill the hostages unless Germany stopped dealing with the Iraqi government.

German authorities have not identified her captors, and it remained unclear whether Berlin had been able to establish any kind of contact with them.