however there was no indication that Wood had been killed. Six weeks after his capture, Wood was found and rescued by Iraqi army troops from a house in Ghazaliya, with assistance from U.S. forces. The Iraqi troops were performing a routine raid of a suspected weapons cache at the house, before finding Wood. Brigadier General Jaleel Khalaf Shewi, commander of the Iraqi brigade which rescued Wood, said a brief firefight had taken place during the operation, but there were no casualties on either side. It was revealed that Wood's Iraqi business associates were killed a month earlier. On 15 June 2005, news of the rescue was relayed to senior Australian diplomat in Baghdad, Nick Warner. Footage was aired in Australia by CNN showing Wood talking to soldiers and sitting up in bed in a medical facility in Baghdad. Prime Minister John Howard subsequently acknowledged the efforts of Australia's Muslim community and senior cleric Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hilali, while also confirming that no ransom had been paid. On 20 June, Muslim Sheik Taj Aldin Alhilali returned to Australia, claiming that Douglas Wood would have been killed if it had not been for his intervention. Wood has, however, denied that he ever spoke to Alhilali during his capture. Aftermath and political position In 2009, Wood contacted Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, claiming that seven of the ten Iraqi soldiers who rescued Wood in 2005 have been systematically murdered. He argues that they were targeted after giving evidence against his kidnappers. In response, two Iraqi service personnel were granted permanent refugee visas under Australia's humanitarian program, after an assessment of their applications found they were in grave and imminent danger. Wood had previously worked on the failed feasibility study for the Jervis Bay Nuclear Power Plant, and in response to John Howard's plan for nuclear power production in Australia, Wood stated that he would happily live next door to a nuclear power plant, and would assist in development of an Australian nuclear energy industry. However, he stated his concerns that Australia's engineers and industrial suppliers are under-qualified to build a local plant. References 1941 births 2019 deaths Australian people taken hostage Engineers from Melbourne Missing person cases in Iraq People from Geelong Foreign hostages in Iraq People from Alamo, California