Has France sucked up to enough Muslim leaders and Arab dictators to get the two French journalists released by the holy warriors in Iraq? Or will the mujahideen decide to get their murder on, because French schoolgirls still have to remove their hijab?

Stay tuned, as Hopes Grow That French Hostages Will Be Freed.

BAGHDAD/PARIS (Reuters) - Hopes for the quick release of two French hostages in Iraq rose sharply Friday, with an Iraqi negotiator saying there were “excellent signs” they would be freed soon.

“We have reached positive, tangible results regarding the release of the two French journalists,” Sheikh Hisham Duleimi said in Iraq. “The signs are good, excellent.”

Duleimi said journalists Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot, seized on Aug. 20, were in good health but did not say whether he was in direct contact with the group holding them.

The comments by Duleimi, who has been involved in negotiations that have secured the release of other foreigners held by insurgents in Iraq, were the latest sign of mounting optimism over the hostages’ fate.

A delegation from the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), which went to Baghdad to try to save the reporters, said they hoped the men would be freed Friday.

An Islamist Web site said the Islamic Army in Iraq, which kidnapped the journalists, had issued a statement promising to announce a decision on their fate soon.

“The Islamic Army’s legal committee will soon announce its decision. We have not delegated any group or person to negotiate or talk on our behalf,” the statement said, dismissing suggestions it had handed the hostages over to another group.