French Hostage Florence Aubenas Released

French "journalist" Florence Aubenas and her driver Hussein Hanun al-Saadi were released by their captors Saturday following negotiations described as a "dangerous operation". From Reuters

France, which opposed the U.S.-led war in Iraq, secured the release of two French journalists in December after they were held hostage for four months by Iraqi militants.

France said then the captors had never asked for a ransom.

It was not clear under what circumstances Aubenas and her driver were freed.

The head of media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said on Saturday their kidnappers could have asked for a ransom, but he later withdrew his comments. France's foreign ministry had said the remarks "did in no way correspond to reality."

As we all know, the French would never lie about something like paying a multi-million dollar ransom. Expect more details to be released in the next few days. Especially interesting will be what involvement French politico Didier Julia had in the release. Julia is under investigation for alleged criminal activity during a previous hostage crisis.