January 15, 2006	Sunday	Zilhaj 14, 1426

BAGHDAD, Jan 14: A British journalist kidnapped in Iraq last month revealed details on Saturday of how he was captured and then freed during a chance raid by US forces.

Freelance reporter Phil Sands was held for five days by gunmen who abducted him on Dec 26, a spokesman for the British embassy confirmed.

His kidnapping had not been reported until now.

In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Mr Sands recalled thinking during his ordeal: “I’m dead. From this moment on, I’m dead.”

The Briton, who writes for the Chronicle, left Iraq after undergoing medical checks, a British embassy spokesman said.

American journalist Jill Carroll is still missing one week after gunmen kidnapped her and killed her translator in a Baghdad neighbourhood where they were seeking an interview with a Sunni leader.

Mr Sands, 28, was similarly on his way to an interview in Baghdad when about 10 men in ski masks and carrying AK-47 rifles kidnapped him, the Chronicle reported. He was stuffed into the trunk of a car.

“I told them my name, I told them I was a journalist. They said there would be an investigation and they’ll check it out. They said if I’m a soldier they would kill me,” he told the Chronicle.

Phil Sands, originally from Dorset, was handcuffed and blindfolded and was being held on a farm outside Baghdad when surprised US troops stumbled upon him.—Reuters