Abducted Reporter After Release: 'I Was Treated Well'

By: E&P Staff After American reporter Jill Carroll was set free Thursday, nearly three months after she was kidnapped in a bloody ambush that killed her translator, she said "it's important that people know that I was treated very well."

In a three-minute interview with Baghdad TV, she declined to comment on what the U.S. should do in Iraq, emphasizing that she just wanted to join her family.

But she emphasized that she had been kept in a "safe room," was never struck or "even threatened" with getting hit, and had "plenty of food" and showers. She had "very good treatment" she said at least twice. She spoke in a strong, calm voice.

Asked if she was aware of any negotiations for her release, she said no, beyond rare "rumors" that she heard.

"I would sit in the room," she explained. "If I had to take a shower, I would walk two feet to the next door, take a shower, go to the bathroom and come back."

Carroll, 28, was dropped off near the Iraqi Islamic Party offices. She walked inside, and people there called American officials, Iraqi police said.

"I was treated well, but I don't know why I was kidnapped," Carroll said. She also said she did not know why she was released.

Carroll was kidnapped Jan. 7 in Baghdad's western Adil neighborhood while going to interview Sunni Arab politician Adnan al-Dulaimi. Her translator was killed in the attack about 300 yards from al-Dulaimi's office. The previously unknown Revenge Brigades claimed responsibility.

During the TV interview, Carroll wore a light green Islamic headscarf and a gray Arabic robe. She pulled back the scarf at times to adjust her glasses.

"I'm just happy to be free. I want to be with my family," she said.

Carroll said she was kept in a furnished room with a window and a shower, but she did not know where she was. It was soundproof.

Asked about any chance for escape, she said, "I felt I was not free. It was difficult because I didn't know what would happen to me." She said she was allowed to watch TV once and read a newspaper once.

Asked about the circumstances of her release, she said, "They just came to me and said, 'We're going.' They didn't tell me what was going on."