During the operation, carried out in coordination with the Iraqi and Jordanian authorities concerned, ICRC delegates accompanied the former detainees on an ICRC-chartered flight from Iraq to Amman, where they were handed over to a representative of the Jordanian Foreign Ministry.

"The conflict in Iraq often makes it very difficult for foreigners released from detention to return home on their own," said Kim Gordon-Bates, deputy head of the ICRC's delegation in Jordan. "Our aim is to help reunite them with their families, for purely humanitarian reasons."

ICRC delegates spoke with the detainees before their release to make sure they were being repatriated of their own free will. The ICRC had previously visited them in order to monitor their conditions of detention and their treatment.

The ICRC carries our regular visits to detainees being held in Iraq by the MNF-I, the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan regional government. So far this year, 23 foreigners released in Iraq have been repatriated under ICRC auspices.