American hostage rescued in Iraq

[SETIsLady]

CNN) -- An American contractor who had been been held hostage in Iraq since November has been rescued from captivity, his ex-wife said Wednesday.

Roy Hallums called from Baghdad on Wednesday, Susan Hallums told CNN.

A Web site devoted to the hostage said "Roy IS FREE!!!!!! 9/7/05." The U.S. military confirmed Hallums was rescued.

"He said that he was well, and he was heading home soon," the ex-wife said.

Speaking by phone from her home in California, she told CNN he said he had been "tied and bound" outside Falluja, a city in the western province of Anbar, in a farmhouse and cannot walk well.

Otherwise, he said he is doing OK, she told CNN.

Susan Hallums said Roy Hallums first called his daughter Amanda in Memphis, Tennessee, and told her, "I was rescued. I love you. I am sorry I'm a little late for Thanksgiving."

Hallums and five others were taken hostage in an attack in Baghdad's Mansour neighborhood November 1. A security guard and one of about 20 attackers died in the gunfight.

The kidnappers later released four captives but kept Hallums and Filipino accountant Robert Tarongoy. All six worked for a Saudi-based food contractor. The U.S. State Department confirmed in December that Hallums, a 56-year-old father of two, was taken.

Tarongoy, 31, was freed in June.

Hallums turned 57 in June and at the time, Susan Hallums held a candlelight vigil for him.

A video of Hallums was released in January, in which he said he worked with American forces and was "arrested by a resistance group in Iraq."

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