Following the rescue of the three Christian peace activists by U.S. and British forces yesterday, British hostage Norman Kember expressed that it is "great to be free" after he and two peace activist colleagues, Canadians Harmeet Singh Sooden and Jim Loney, were released in Iraq.

|TOP|The three were found tied up in a house in western Baghdad, two weeks after their American colleague, Tom Fox, was tortured and killed.

The three freed members of Christian Peacemaker Teams were taken to a hospital for observation in Baghdad and later released in good condition, the organisation said from the Iraqi capital.

"I have had the opportunity to have a shave, a relax in the bath and a good English breakfast," 74-year-old Christian peace activist Norman Kember said in a statement released by the British embassy in Baghdad.

"I'm very much looking forward to getting home to British soil and to being reunited with my family."

British Embassy spokeswoman Lisa Glover said the men would be flown out of Baghdad in the next few days. She said Kember was in "reasonable condition" and spent the day "relaxing and talking to British authorities."

British officials declined to comment on the exact date when Kember might fly home, citing security reasons and the Kember family's request for privacy.

|QUOTE|The three hostages were released after a pre-planned military operation involving British forces.

Tony Blair's spokesman said British forces took a "prominent" role in the rescue operation, but refused to comment further for fear of compromising any future hostage situations.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said: "The three hostages, Norman Kember, the British hostage, and two Canadians have been released as a result of a multinational forces operation which took place earlier today.

"It follows weeks and weeks of very careful work by our military and coalition personnel in Iraq and many civilians as well."

Mr Kember, from Pinner, Middlesex, had been in captivity with two Canadian hostages, James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, and an American Tom Fox, 54, since they were snatched in Baghdad on November 26.

The four were taken hostage by a mysterious group called the Swords of Righteousness Brigade. Mr Fox was killed by his captors earlier this month.

The four hostages travelled to Iraq last year as a "gesture of solidarity" with the Canada-based group Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT).

|AD|Kember's wife Pat, who was "thrilled" at news of her husband's release, said she had spoken with her husband on the phone.

"He was very, very pleased to be free, but he was very emotional in talking to me. I think he must be very worried about me and the family," she told New Zealand's Radio Live in an interview replayed by the British Broadcasting Corp.

In addition, she commented on Kember’s release: "It's wonderful news, I was getting pessimistic, I was beginning to feel nothing was happening and I was getting worried.”

"The support I have had from everybody has been so wonderful. In England every church and denomination has been having vigils of prayer and I cannot fault them.”

The Rev Alan Betteridge, friend of Mr Kember for more than 40 years, said: "We were praying for his release this morning. We have been praying for them every day.”

On the day the hostages were rescued, The Christian Peacemaker Teams cited in their website: “Living through the many emotions of this day, we remain committed to the words of Jim Loney, who wrote:

With God’s abiding kindness, we will love even our enemies.
With the love of Christ, we will resist all evil.
With God’s unending faithfulness, we will work to build the beloved community.“