Beirut Hostage Waite Reportedly Recovers From ‘Health Problems’
British church envoy Terry Waite, a hostage for 40 months, has recovered from a recent illness, pro-Iranian sources said Tuesday.
They said two Iranian doctors attended Waite regularly until his condition worsened about a month ago, when he was treated by a doctor from Beirut’s American University hospital.
“Waite is being held in acceptable conditions in the southern suburbs (of Beirut) and is receiving regular medical attention,” a source said.
The sources, close to the groups holding Waite, 51, and several other Westerners in Lebanon, would not say what Waite suffered from. They said he has had “several health problems.”
Waite, lay aide to Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Robert A. K. Runcie, vanished Jan. 20, 1987, when he left his West Beirut hotel to negotiate with hostage-takers for the release of U.S. captives Terry A. Anderson and Thomas Sutherland.
No group has claimed responsibility for his abduction, but he is believed held by pro-Iranian militants close to Hezbollah (Party of God), who hold most of the other captives.
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