Qatar hunting party

Qatar hunting party 'freed in Iraq'

The Iraqi interior ministry said "all 26" were in Baghdad and would be handed over to a Qatari envoy.

The hunters were abducted by gunmen in a desert area of Iraq near the Saudi border in December 2015.

A wide-scale search was launched but very little information was known about their whereabouts or condition.

Their release is believed to be connected to a complex deal in Syria involving the evacuation of four besieged towns. However, the interior ministry would not provide details.