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FREED after six years, hostage Ingrid Betancourt has thanked God and Colombian soldiers for rescuing her from Colombian rebels.

"I want first of all to thank God and the Colombian soldiers,`` Ms Betancourt told Caracol radio just hours after she was rescued by a Colombian military operation which ended her six-year ordeal.

"The operation was absolutely impeccable,`` she said.

She said she believed her rescue with 14 other hostages was "a sign of peace for Colombia".

Some of the elite Colombian soldiers who took part in the operation had disguised themselves as rebels, even wearing T-shirts bearing the picture of legendary revolutionary Che Guevara, she said.

"They spoke and dressed like the guerrillas,`` Ms Betancourt said.

The operation began at dawn, when the hostages were told they were being transferred.

The group realised they were being rescued only when they were in the air and one of the soldiers pretending to be a guerrilla shouted out: "We are the army of Colombia, you are free.``

Minutes after speaking on radio, a pale but smiling Ms Betancourt landed in Bogota`s military air base.

Dressed in black pants and a camouflage vest and floppy hat, she descended the stairs of the plane and hugged her mother, Yolanda Pulecio, who was waiting on the runway.

Flanked by Ms Pulecio and Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos, she took a phone telephone call while a military general praised the soldiers who rescued Ms Betancourt, three American defence contractors and 11 other hostages.

Mr Santos said military intelligence agents infiltrated the guerrilla ranks and led the local commander, alias Cesar, to believe they were going to take them by helicopter to Alfonso Cano, the guerrillas` leader.

The hostages, who had been divided in three groups, were taken to a rallying point where two helicopters piloted by Colombian military agents were waiting.

The helicopters took off with the hostages, Cesar and one other rebel, and those two "were neutralised`` during the flight, Mr Santos said.

Ms Betancourt said her hands and feet were bound on the way to the helicopters, and that only when the choppers had taken off did military crewmembers reveal their identity.

The rest of the rebel captors had dropped off the hostages and retreated into the jungle. The army let them escape "in hopes that they will free the rest of the hostages,`` Mr Santos said.

The Government said the FARC still held about 700 hostages.

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Today`s Top Picks

Bandits kill Aussie aid worker

AN Australian man helping orphans in Africa has died after he was shot through a wall by robbers.

• Sex talk: Teen lover speaks in Brinkley divorce
• Commandos: Hostages freed from jungle hell
• At the movies: Charlize Theron helps save the day

Search for more stories on this topic on Newstext, our news archive service. Click here

Also in World

• Jakarta: `Black magic` serial killer faces death
• Paris: France celebrates Betancourt`s hostage release
• The Hague: Bosnian war crimes conviction overturned
• France: Continental Airlines to be tried for fatal crash
• Johannesburg: Zambian president has died - report
• Jakarta: Cops smash cafe bomb plot
• Horrific deaths: DNA students repeatedly stabbed, burnt
• London: Two Frenchmen stabbed to death, then burnt

Video

Watch this Video NOW!

Inside Supernatural

JARED Padalecki and Jensen Ackles discuss ghosts, Latin and a Supernatural film.

Latest videos

• Best bum competition
• Star Trek`s Uhura on civil rights
• Freeze flash mob
• Jane McGrath farewelled

More Video

Blogroll

Jack Marx Live

A special tribute in verse to Australia`s Next Top Model.

• Ask Bossy: Report my sister for child neglect?
• Splat!: Aussie women taking up the cyber path
• Blogocracy: Green investments going up
• Squanderlust: Save whales and get a tax break
• Fully Chic: Supersize model`s fat revolution
• Technology:Tips to prepare for the iPhone
• Money Stuff:Coping with the stocks horror

Advertisement

Planning a Holiday? - Visit our Europe section for the latest destination offers!

 

The Australian News Bites Bite sized news all in one place brought to you by the new Holden Caprice

 

Overflowing with benefitsExperience life the Platinum Way With American Express Platinum

 

Meet Single WomenView photos of single women near you at match.com. Start flirting now!

 

Planning a trip OS? - Click for fantastic fares to over 70 THAI destinations worldwide

 

Tools

• Receive our news feed
  What is RSS?
• Receive our email newsletter
• Send us your news photos
• Send us your story tips
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