BASRA, Iraq (AFP) -- Iraqi security forces freed a British journalist kidnapped two months ago in the main southern city of Basra on Monday after a fierce firefight with his abductors, Iraqi officials said.

Richard Butler was found after the 30-minute gunbattle in a room handcuffed and with a hood over his head, senior Iraqi commander in Basra, Lieutenant General Mohan al-Fraiji, told AFP.
Soon after his release, Butler was shown on state television Al-Iraqiya surrounded by Iraqi military officials who hugged and applauded him before sitting down with the journalist to share a meal.
The tousle-haired Butler, who had been on assignment with U.S. television network CBS when he was abducted along with his Iraqi translator on February 10, praised the soldiers who had freed him.
""The Iraqi army stormed the house and overcame my guards and then burst through the door,"" said a smiling Butler.
""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.""
Looking healthy, Butler added: ""I am looking forward to seeing my family and my friends at CBS.""
""We are incredibly grateful that our colleague, Richard Butler, has been released and is safe,"" CBS said in a statement.
The photographer was later taken to the British base at Basra airport where he was given a medical examination, a British official said.
Iraqi defense ministry spokesman Major General Mohammed al-Askari said on state television that troops from the army's Fourteenth Division raided Basra's Jubaiyia neighborhood earlier on Monday.