This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-39669501

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Kidnapped Qatari hunting party of 26 'freed in Iraq' Kidnapped Qatari hunting party of 26 'freed in Iraq'
(about 2 hours later)
A group of Qatari hunters - possibly including members of the ruling family - have been freed 16 months after being kidnapped in Iraq, officials say. A group of Qatari hunters - including members of the ruling family - have been freed 16 months after being kidnapped in Iraq, officials say.
The Iraqi interior ministry said "all 26" were in Baghdad and would be handed over to a Qatari envoy.The Iraqi interior ministry said "all 26" were in Baghdad and would be handed over to a Qatari envoy.
The hunters were abducted by gunmen in a desert area of Iraq near the Saudi border in December 2015.The hunters were abducted by gunmen in a desert area of Iraq near the Saudi border in December 2015.
A large-scale search was launched but very little information was known about the group's whereabouts or condition.A large-scale search was launched but very little information was known about the group's whereabouts or condition.
'Four towns' deal What's known about the kidnapping?
Their release is believed to be connected to a complex deal in Syria involving the evacuation of four besieged towns. However, the Iraqi interior ministry would not provide details. The group was seized in December 2015 while on a licensed hunting trip near the border with Saudi Arabia.
The Shia Muslim political parties which dominate the Iraqi government are highly critical of Qatar's role in supporting Sunni Muslim rebels in Syria. The hostages were abducted when gunmen swept into their camp at dawn in four-by-four vehicles.
Also on Friday, a spokesman for the Syrian Islamist rebel group Ahrar al-Sham told Reuters that the Syrian government was going to to release 500 prisoners into rebel-held territory, as part of a swap deal - of which he gave no further details.
Ahrar al-Sham is reported to be a key player in the deal to evacuate the four towns.
Two of these are Foah and Kefraya, mostly Shia Muslim government-held towns which have been encircled by rebels and al-Qaeda-linked Sunni jihadists since March 2015.
The other two towns are rebel-held Madaya and Zabadani, which have been besieged since June 2015 by the Syrian army and fighters from Lebanon's Shia Muslim Hezbollah movement.
Searching for prey
The Guardian newspaper has reported that an Iraqi militia with strong ties to Iran, a key backer of the Syrian government and its ally Hezbollah, was holding the Qatari hunters.
The hunting party is widely believed to include one or several more prominent members of the Qatari royal family, although they have not been identified.The hunting party is widely believed to include one or several more prominent members of the Qatari royal family, although they have not been identified.
They were hunting the Asian houbara bustard, akin to a small turkey, using falcons trained to home in on their quarry.
Why are they being released?
Their release is believed to be connected to a complex deal in Syria involving the evacuation of four besieged towns, which was announced earlier this week.
However, the interior ministry has not provided details confirming this.
The Guardian newspaper has reported that an Iraqi militia with strong ties to Iran, a key backer of the Syrian government and its ally Hezbollah, was holding the Qatari hunters.
It says the deal involves the Syrian Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham, Iran, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Qatar.
A Qatari royal and a Pakistani man were freed earlier this month.A Qatari royal and a Pakistani man were freed earlier this month.
Iraq is one of several countries frequented by Gulf Arab huntsmen and falconers as they search for prey that either does not exist in their own countries or which has been almost hunted to extinction there. Also on Friday, a spokesman for Ahrar al-Sham told Reuters that the Syrian government was going to to release 500 prisoners into rebel-held territory, as part of a swap deal.
Their favoured prey is the Asian houbara bustard, akin to a small turkey, and to find it and other similar species hunters from the Gulf often travel to Morocco, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. What is the 'four towns' deal?
It is an agreement to end the sieges of four towns - two surrounded by pro-government forces, two by rebel and Islamist fighters - in eastern Syria.
Foah and Kefraya are mainly Shia Muslim, government-held towns, close to the border with Lebanon, which have been besieged since March 2015.
Madaya and Zabadani are rebel-held towns in the north-east, which have been besieged since June 2015 by the Syrian army and fighters from Lebanon's Shia Muslim Hezbollah movement.
Conditions have been desperate, especially in Madaya and Zabadani, with severe shortages of food, medicine and fuel. International aid deliveries have been infrequent and required careful negotiation. Government air drops have eased the situation in Foah and Kefraya somewhat.
Starving to death' in Madaya
Madaya, where children resort to suicide
Under the exchange deal, residents of Foah and Kefraya are being bussed to government-held Aleppo, while people in Madaya and Zabadani are being taken to rebel-held areas.
The evacuations began last week, but were held up after a bomb attack hit the convoy of buses from the two government-held towns, killing at least 126 people including 68 children.
Thousands of evacuees from Foah and Kefraya have also been held up at a staging point for 48 hours, but a rebel involved in the operation told AFP that the buses had left after the news of the release of government-held prisoners.
According to AFP, the current phase of evacuations involves 8,000 people from Foah and Kafraya, and 2,500 civilians and rebels from Madaya and Zabadani.
A second phase is to begin in June.