Qatari royal freed by Iraqi kidnappers after four months in captivity

A member of the Qatari royal family and a Pakistani companion were released by kidnappers in Iraq after nearly four months in captivity, the Qatari foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

The pair were among 26 people abducted from a desert hunting party near the Saudi border last December.

The ministry said in a statement that efforts are still ongoing to liberate the remaining captives.

The identities of those taken have not been made clear, although in December, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said those taken included children.

Following the kidnapping, the Qatari foreign ministry said it had initiated contact with the Iraqi government to secure the captives’ release, pointing out that the hunters had entered Iraq with official permission from the Iraqi ministry of interior and in coordination with the Iraqi embassy in Doha.