No Thanks to Chirac

From Army News:

Iraqi and Ironhorse Soldiers rescue French hostageJanuary 9, 2006

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Jan. 9, 2006) – Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and Task Force Ironhorse Soldiers liberated a French hostage Jan. 7 in the Abu Ghraib area of western Baghdad.The Iraqi Army Soldiers were searching farm houses for weapons caches while U.S. Soldiers from Task Force Ironhorse manned a checkpoint as part of an outer cordon. As the Iraqi Army closed in on their location, the kidnappers fled from a nearby farmhouse and left the French hostage.After the kidnappers fled, the hostage, Bernard Planche, a 52-year-old employee of a French non-governmental Organization, ran up to a checkpoint manned by Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 22 Infantry. Planche was first reported kidnapped in western Baghdad on Dec 5.Iraqi Army and Coalition forces are continuing to search the area for the kidnappers, officials said. (Editor’s note: Information provided by 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs and Task Force Ironhorse.)