Five Iraqi women in American custody will be freed on Thursday or Friday, the U.S. military said, as Iraqi officials stressed their release was not linked to the case of kidnapped American reporter Jill Carroll. The five, among eight women being held by U.S. forces in Iraq, would be freed along with about 420 other detainees, the U.S. military said in a statement quoted by Reuters. The kidnappers of Carroll, who was abducted in Baghdad on Jan. 7, had threatened to kill her by last Friday unless all women prisoners were released. There has been no word on her fate. "The case of the women detainees is a legal case and it has nothing to do with the case of the American journalist," said a Justice Ministry official, who declined to be named. The military statement said a panel comprising U.S. and Iraqi officials had recommended the release of the women after reviewing their cases.
