OTTAWA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Two Canadian hostages held in Iraq for nearly four months have been freed in a carefully planned military operation involving Canadian, British, American and Iraqiforces, local media reported Thursday.

    Canadians James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, were freed along with Briton Norman Kember, 74. All three were members of the Chicago-based Christian Peacemaker Teams, an international peace activist group.

    They were abducted in November in Baghdad with American Tom Fox,who was later killed. His body was found March 10 with gunshot wounds to his head and chest.

    British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw announced the news Thursday saying Loney and Sooden required hospital treatment but providing no details. Kember was reportedly in "reasonable" condition.

    All three were initially taken to the U.S.-controlled military Green Zone in Baghdad and have since been moved to the British Embassy.

    The Iraqi interior ministry said the operation took place in a rural area between the town of Mishahda, about 30 kilometers north of Baghdad and the suburb of Abu Ghraib, about 20 kilometers from downtown Baghdad.

    The U.S. military said the operation was based on information from a man who was captured Wednesday night and that only three hours passed from the time they got the intelligence to the time of the raid, which took place at 8 a.m. local time.

    Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he has spoken with the two Canadian hostages, touting their release as "wonderful news."

    "The safe return of these men is what we all sought, and I want to thank all those here in Canada and around the world who have worked so tirelessly to secure their safe release," said Harper. Enditem