A video grab of released British serviceman Operator Maintainer Andrew Henderson kissing an unidentified woman at Royal Marines Base Chivenor in Devon, 200 miles (320 km) southwest of London April 5, 2007. Fifteen British military personnel freed by Iran after a two-week stand-off were reunited with their families on Thursday. The 14 men and one woman hugged and kissed tearful relatives at a military base in southwest England ahead of a debriefing session, after landing in London from Tehran. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to the surprise of British government, said on Wednesday he had decided to forgive and free the group, who were seized along with their patrol boats in the northern Gulf on March 23. Iran said they had strayed into its waters but Britain said they were in Iraqi waters on a regular U.N. mission. In a statement released several hours after their return, the 15 said their arrival at Heathrow airport had been a "dream come true" and said they would not forget the welcome. "The past two weeks have been very difficult, but by staying together as a team, we kept our spirits up, drawing great comfort from the knowledge that our loved ones would be waiting for us on our return," they said in a statement read out by a Royal Marines spokesman. Prime Minister Tony Blair was somber. He said that while the country celebrated the safe return the joy was diminished by the killing of four British soldiers in Iraq on Thursday. "Just as we rejoice at the return of our 15 service personnel, we are also grieving and mourning for the loss of our soldiers in Basra, who were killed as the result of a terrorist act," Blair said outside his office at 10 Downing St. 點擊查看更多雙語新聞 (AP)

在經歷了長達兩周的外交僵局后，被伊朗釋放的15名英國海軍于周四回到英國，與家人團聚。 從德黑蘭抵達倫敦后，14名男水兵和1名女水兵前往位于英國西南部的一個軍事基地與家人團聚，他們與熱淚盈眶的家人互相擁抱、親吻，之后接受了軍方的詢問。 3月23日，這15名水兵連同他們的巡邏艦在海灣北部被伊朗扣押。讓英國政府沒想到的是，伊朗總統內賈德于本周三宣布決定釋放這15名水兵。 據伊朗方面稱，英國水兵非法進入了伊朗的水域，而英國政府則稱他們是在伊拉克水域執行聯合國的常規任務。 這15名水兵在回國幾小時后發表的一份聲明中說，飛回希思羅機場讓他們“夢想成真”，并表示不會忘記所受到的歡迎。 他們在由皇家海軍發言人代讀的聲明中稱：“我們度過了十分艱難的兩周，但是我們團結一致，振作精神，在得知我們的家人將等待我們回家后，我們感到了莫大的安慰。” 而英國首相布萊爾則是憂心忡忡。他說，正當大家都在慶祝這15名水兵安全回國時，我們的四名士兵卻于周四在伊拉克遇難。 布萊爾在他的首相官邸外發表的講話中稱：“在我們慶祝15名海軍回國之時，我們也要為在巴斯拉遭恐怖主義襲擊而身亡的士兵們哀悼。” （英語點津姍姍編輯）