‘Japanese hostages in Iraq safe’

British contractor GaryTeeley, seized by suspected militants in Nassiriya last week, was handed over to US-led coalition forces on Sunday, a senior coalition source said.

“He is in the hands of American and Italian forces in Nassiriya as we speak. We’ll be making sure that he is flown out of the country and back to Britain as soon as possible,’’ the source said.

The US Military said an Apache helicopter was shot down west of Baghdad on Sunday killing its two-man crew. In Baghdad, witnesses said US troops used tanks to smash into the compound of a Sunni mosque in a night raid and destroyed goods collected for Falluja victims.

Talks to try to end fighting between Iraqi guerrillas and US troops in Falluja will continue on Monday and an informal ceasefire will be extended overnight, one of the negotiators said on Sunday. Hashim al-Hassani, the deputy to a member in Iraq’s Governing Council, said a shaky truce which held most of Sunday would be extended for another 12 hours until 10 am Monday, when talks would resume.

Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported on Sunday that a battalion of the new Iraqi Army refused to go to Falluja earlier this week to support US Marines.