Japanese journalist detained in Iraq freed

A Japanese journalist who was detained in Iraq and thought to have been held by Kurdish authorities near the northern city of Mosul has been freed, the Japanese media reported on Monday.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK said Kosuke Tsuneoka, detained while trying to cover an offensive by Iraqi and Kurdish military in a bid to recapture the Islamic State-held Mosul, had told NHK that he was released recently.

Tsuneoka, 47, was unharmed and in what NHK described as "good health". The journalist will return to Japan on a flight from an airport in northern Iraq, reports Xinhua news agency.

--IANS

mr/