Freed British reporter says Iraq troops stormed

A British journalist who was freed on Monday after being held by kidnappers in the southern city of Basra for two months said Iraqi forces had raided the house where he was held and overwhelmed his captors.

"The Iraqi army stormed the house and overcame my guards and then burst through the door. I had my hood on which I had to have on all the time, and they shouted something at me and I pulled my hood off," Richard Butler, a photographer for the U.S. network CBS, told Iraqiya state television.

"Iraqi army brilliant," Butler said in response to a question about the Iraqi security forces.

He appeared to be in good health and high spirits and said he was looking forward to seeing his family and friends at CBS.

Butler and his interpreter were kidnapped in Basra in February. The interpreter was freed within days.