Multi-National Corps – Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20071013-16
October 13, 2007

Soldiers capture kidnapper, free hostage
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO

BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division Soldiers captured a kidnapper and freed a hostage being held for ransom Oct. 9 after being tipped off by residents of Northern Baghdad’s Adhamiyah neighborhood.

Members of the 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division, conducted the operation which freed Majhid Hamid Majeed, a 33-year-old shop owner and father of five, from the confines of the tiny, squalid room where he was being held hostage.

Majeed had been abducted the previous day by kidnappers who beat him and threatened to kill him unless his family paid a $10,000 ransom.  As word about the kidnapping spread through the community, a Concerned Citizen called a local tip line with information about the identities of the kidnappers.

A platoon from Troop C, 3rd Battalion, 7th Cavalry was on patrol when the tip came in. The patrol was immediately redirected to the residence the kidnappers were supposedly using as their base.  When the Soldiers burst through the door, the kidnapper who was guarding Majeed literally jumped out of his shoes and made a break for the roof, said Hot Springs, Ark., native Staff Sgt. Jeremy Hand. The Soldiers caught him before he could make it out of the house.

A search of the house quickly located Majeed, who was lying on a cot in a small room. Until the moment the Soldiers came into the room, Majeed was sure he was going to be killed, he said.  When the Soldiers’ interpreter explained to Majeed that he was being rescued, the shop owner hugged and kissed him.

“Thank you America!” he exclaimed.

When their search was complete, the Soldiers brought Majeed, the detainee and evidence taken from the house back to their base at Coalition Outpost Apache.  Later that evening the Soldiers brought Majeed’s brother and a cousin to see him, and the three of them shared a long hug together when they were reunited.

For Orlando, Fla., native Spc. Thomas Anderson, a medic who had taken part in the operation, seeing Majeed reunited with his family was a gratifying sight.

“This guy has got five kids, and he gets to go home to them tonight because of us. That makes you feel pretty good,” Anderson said.
 
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