Three kidnapped French nationals and an Iraqi freed from captivity

Three French nationals and an Iraqi who work for a French non-governmental organisation have been released in Iraq more than two months after they went missing, French President Emmanuel Macron's office said on Thursday.

"The President of the Republic welcomes the release of our three nationals Antoine Brochon, Julien Dittmar, Alexandre Goodarzy and Iraqi Tariq Mattoka," it said in a statement which indicated the four had been kidnapped.

The four men all work for SOS Chretiens d'Orient, an NGO which states on its website that it seeks to help Christians in the region. The four disappeared in Baghdad on Jan. 20.

Jeanne Der Agopian (L), PR officer, and Benjamin Blanchard, directer general of the French charity SOS Chrétiens d'Orient give a press conference in Paris on January 24 concerning three French nationals and one Iraqi who have been missing in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad since January 20, 2020.

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