British sailors and marines held captive for 13 days in Iran arrive home

ROYAL MARINE BASE CHIVENOR, England — Fifteen Royal Navy sailors and marines held captive by Iran returned home Thursday to a nation relieved at their freedom but outraged that they were used for propaganda by Tehran.

Prime Minister Tony Blair called for continued international pressure on Iran, blaming elements of the Iranian government for backing militants in Iraq, where four British soldiers and a translator were slain in an ambush hours before the freed crew touched down.

"On the one hand we are glad that our service personnel return safe and unharmed from their captivity, but on the other we return to the sober and ugly reality of what is happening through terrorism in Iraq," Blair said outside his Downing Street office.

The liberated crew broke open champagne and changed into fresh uniforms on the flight home. After landing at Heathrow airport, they smiled and stood at attention before being whisked by two Sea King helicopters to the Royal Marines base at Chivenor, southwest of London.

They joyfully embraced their tearful families at the base, where they also are expected to be debriefed on their 13 days in captivity.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup met with the crew briefly and described them as being "happy and in good shape." He dismissed questions that the sailors and marines had behaved improperly because they took part in videos on Iranian state television in which they "admitted" trespassing into Tehran's territorial waters.

"They did exactly as they should have done from start to finish and we are proud of them," he said.

Later in the day, the BBC reported that one member of the crew was kept in solitary confinement.

The BBC did not identify the service member. It cited the family of one of the sailors as the source for the information, but did not identify the relatives further.

Britain's Defense Ministry said it could not comment, but confirmed that sailors were being debriefed about their captivity.

The tabloid Sun newspaper wrote that "nobody emerges from this crisis with credit."

"The sight of the illegally detained British forces thanking Iranian tyrants for their freedom will sicken the nation," the Sun said in an editorial.