UAE welcomes release of kidnapped hunting party

Group taken in Iraq include Qatari royals and two Saudis

ABU DHABI // The UAE yesterday welcomed the release of a mainly Qatari hunting party after a 16-month hostage ordeal in Iraq, saying such terrorism “feeds on chaos and instability”.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation congratulates the brotherly state of Qatar and expresses relief that their ordeal is over,” said Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

Dr Gargash expressed appreciation for the role played by Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi and the Iraqi government in securing the release of the 26 hunters, who were flown to Doha on Friday after being handed to Iraqi authorities.

Two Saudi Arabian citizens were among the party, which was earlier thought to have been Qataris only. They were identified as as Salem Al Merri and Mohammed Al Merri, who were expected to be flown home to the kingdom yesterday.

The hunting party, which is believed to have included up to 11 prominent members of the Qatari royal family, was taken in southern Iraq on December 16, 2015.

There was no formal claim of responsibility but the abduction was widely linked to Shiite militias with ties to Tehran.

The hostage deal was linked to one of the largest population transfers in Syria’s six-year war, a deal Qatar co-sponsored with regime ally Iran late last month.

The hostages’ release was delayed for several days by an explosion a week ago that killed at least 130 people waiting to be transferred, mainly children and government supporters.

The transfer of thousands of Syrian civilians was also tied to another deal involving 750 political prisoners to be released by the Syrian government.

The complexity of the talks highlights Qatar’s role as an experienced and shrewd negotiator in hostage situations.

It also raised allegations that the country paid millions of dollars to an Al Qaeda-linked group to enable the population transfer in Syria that led to the hostages’ release in Iraq on Friday. The party was taken from a desert camp for falcon hunters in southern Iraq. They legally entered Iraq to hunt inside the province of Muthanna, about 370 kilometres south- east of Baghdad.

Shiite militias are active in that area.

A source said Qatar had paid tens of millions of dollars to Shiite groups, and to the Al Qaeda-linked Levant Liberation Committee and Ahrar Al Sham, which are involved in the population transfers under way in Syria.

Both were part of an opposition alliance that swept through Syria’s north-western Idlib province, seizing it from the government in 2015 and besieging two villages now being evacuated.

A negotiator said the Qatari group was being held by Iraqi Shiite militia Kata’eb Hizbollah, which has officially denied involvement.

Qatar is home to US Central Command’s regional headquarters and the largest US military base in the Middle East. It is also part of the US-led coalition fighting ISIL in Iraq and Syria.