BERLIN, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- A German woman abducted in Iraq three weeks ago has been freed, according to German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Susanne Osthoff, 43, and her Iraqi driver were released, Steinmeier said Sunday evening in Berlin. A German television station on Monday reported Osthoff has left the German embassy in Baghdad and is on her way to Germany.
Several prominent German and Iraqi politicians, including Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, had publicly campaigned for Osthoff's release.
The woman was kidnapped on Nov. 25 while travelling from Baghdad to Arbil, a city in the Kurdish controlled northern part of Iraq.
It remains unclear how Osthoff was freed and whether the German government paid any ransom money. Osthoff was the first German citizen to be abducted in Iraq.
Meanwhile, at least nine Westerners are still held hostage.
