Susanne Kristina Osthoff (born 7 March 1962) is a German archaeologist who had worked in Iraq from 1991 until being taken hostage there on 25 November 2005.
[1] After her studies, she moved to Iraq to work in archaeology, including the excavation of the 4,000 year-old Islin site.
[7] In her first interview after release, Osthoff appeared in a full niqab and told Al Jazeera that the kidnappers assured her she was safe and that they knew she was "Iraq's friend."
"[4][8] While she was showering at the German embassy in Baghdad immediately after her release, officers from the BND found "several thousand dollars" rubberbanded to Osthoff.
[8] Some believe that Germany traded the terrorist Mohammed Ali Hamadi, who was convicted of the murder of US Navy sailor Robert Stethem during the hijacking of TWA Flight 847, for Susanne Osthoff's release.