Seven Foreign Truckers Freed in Iraq; France Anxious

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By Michael Georgy
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic militants freed seven truck drivers from India, Kenya and Egypt held hostage in Iraq for six weeks, offering a ray of hope Wednesday to a dozen other foreign nationals still in captivity.

France awaited word on the fate of two kidnapped French reporters after a deadline for Paris to scrap a ban on Muslim headscarves in schools apparently passed without incident.

A Kuwaiti firm which employed the truckers said they were on their way to the Gulf state.

Their release came a day after another militant group said it had slaughtered 12 Nepalis in the worst mass killing of captives in Iraq since a spate of kidnappings began in April.

"We just got custody of the drivers. They are all safe and heading to Kuwait now," said Rana Abu Zaineh, a spokeswoman for the Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Company (KGL).

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6124063