American journalist released unharmed

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- American reporter Jill Carroll was set free Thursday, nearly three months after she was kidnapped in a bloody ambush that killed her translator. She said she had been treated well.\nCarroll, 28, was dropped off near offices of the Iraqi Islamic Party. She walked inside, and people there called American officials, Iraqi police said.\n"I was treated well, but I don't know why I was kidnapped," Carroll said in a brief interview on Baghdad television.\nHer family thanked "the generous people around the world who worked officially or unofficially" to gain her freedom. Her father, Jim, told CNN he was asleep in his North Carolina home when the phone rang at about 6 a.m.\n"Hi, Dad. This is Jill. I'm released," the voice on the other end said.\nNo details were given about the circumstances surrounding her release. The U.S. ambassador said the American embassy paid no ransom, but his remarks left open the question of whether "arrangements" were made by others.\nIn Washington, a Pentagon spokesman said the U.S. military was not involved in Carroll's release.\nPresident Bush said, "I'm just really grateful she's released, and I want to thank those who worked hard to release her and we're glad she's alive."\nCarroll was kidnapped Jan. 7 in Baghdad's western Adil neighborhood while going to interview Sunni Arab politician Adnan al-Dulaimi for The Christian Science Monitor. Her translator was killed in the attack about 300 yards from al-Dulaimi's office.\nThe previously unknown Revenge Brigades claimed responsibility. Even though the group threatened twice in videotapes to kill Carroll, she said: "They never hit me. They never even threatened to hit me."\nThe Italian news agency ANSA reported that Carroll underwent a medical checkup at the American hospital in the Green Zone.\nDuring the TV interview, Carroll wore a light green Islamic headscarf and a gray Arabic robe.\n"I'm just happy to be free. I want to be with my family," she was heard to say under the Arabic voiceover.\nCarroll said she was kept in a furnished room with a window and a shower, but she did not know where she was.\n"I felt I was not free. It was difficult because I didn't know what would happen to me," she said.\nShe said she was allowed to watch TV once and read a newspaper once.\nAsked about the circumstances of her release, she said, "I don't know what happened. They just came to me early this morning and said, 'OK, we are letting you go now.'"\nPolice Lt. Col. Falah al-Mohammedawi said Carroll was released near an office of the Iraqi Islamic Party, the main Sunni political organization, in western Baghdad. The party said in a statement that Carroll walked in at 12:15 p.m. carrying a letter written in Arabic asking the party to help her.\nCarroll then was transferred to party headquarters, given gifts that included a Quran and was met by fellow journalists and American officials before leaving at about 2:30 p.m., the statement said.\nIn Berlin, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, "This is something that people have across the world worked for and prayed for and I think we are all very pleased and happy to hear of her release."\nU.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad met with Carroll and said she was in good spirits and anxious to go home. He also said no kidnappers were "yet" in custody, and no one in the U.S. mission was involved in paying a ransom.\n"No U.S. person entered into any arrangements with anyone. By 'U.S. person' I mean the United States mission," Khalilzad said.\nMonitor Editor Richard Bergenheim said "absolutely no" negotiations took place for Carroll's release. He credited a growing "chorus" of condemnation from the Muslim world for helping win her freedom.\nCarroll's family said it was elated at news of her release and would focus on helping her recover from her ordeal.\nJim Carroll told the AP at his house in Chapel Hill, N.C., he is waiting to learn more about his daughter's plans before making travel arrangements to reunite with her.\n"Obviously, we are thrilled and relieved that she has been released," he said on the porch of his home. "We want to especially thank The Christian Science Monitor, who did so much work to keep her image alive in Iraq."\nIn a statement issued by the Monitor, the family said, "Our hearts are full ... We would like to thank all of the generous people around the world who worked officially or unofficially -- especially those who took personal risk -- to gain Jill's release."\nAssociated Press reporters Jerry Estill in Washington and Brooke Donald in Boston contributed to this report.