LOS ANGELES -- When former hostage Roy Hallums called his daughter early Wednesday from Iraq with news of his rescue, he apologized for causing her so much grief and pain.

Aftter gunman abducted Hallums along with two other foreigners from a Baghdad office last November, his family worked tirelessly for his safe release. They lobbied world leaders, held candlelight vigils, established a Web site, even offered a $40,000 reward.

"He apologized to me for putting me through any hardship," his eldest daughter, Carrie Anne Cooper, 29, said in a telephone interview from her Westminster home. "He got to say he was sorry, and I got to say I loved him. We got to say things we never thought we would be able to say."

Coalition troops rescued Hallums Wednesday in an isolated farmhouse 15 miles south of Baghdad, according to the U.S. military. He told his family the kidnappers escaped without a gunbattle.

"Considering what he's been through, I understand he's in good condition," his ex-wife, Susan Hallums, 53, said.

The family Web site was topped with a headline: Roy IS FREE!!!!!! 9/7/05.

Hallums, 57, formerly of Newport Beach, was working for the Saudi Arabian Trading and Construction Co., supplying food to the Iraqi army, when he was kidnapped Nov. 1.

He was seized along with two other foreigners after a firefight in the upscale Mansour neighborhood. An Iraqi guard and one attacker were killed. A Filipino, a Nepalese and three Iraqis also were abducted but later freed.

In a January video released by his kidnappers, Hallums had a shaggy beard and a gun pointed at his head.

The family sent fliers to Iraq that, in English and Arabic, offered a $40,000 reward. His ex-wife had planned to raise the money by selling a house in Memphis, Tenn., that was left to her by her late mother.

His family also contacted Bill and Hillary Clinton, both of California's U.S. senators and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, Susan Hallums said. Gadhafi called on insurgents to release the American.

Susan Hallums and her husband of 30 years divorced a few years ago but remained good friends. They have two daughters, Cooper, from Westminster in Orange County, and Amanda Hallums, 26, who lives in Tennessee.

Hallums had been bound and gagged for much of his time in captivity, but doctors gave him a "clean bill of health" after the rescue, Cooper said. He planned to return to the United States within days.

"I've been waiting for this day, hoping for this day for a long time," Cooper said.

Information from an unidentified Iraqi detainee, captured just a few hours before the rescue operation, led to Hallums' release, said Lt. Col. Steven A. Boylan, a military spokesman.

Hallums provided the following statement through the military after his rescue:

"I want to thank all of those who were involved in my rescue -- to those who continuously tracked my captors and location, and to those who physically brought me freedom today. To all of you, I will be forever grateful. Both of us are in good health and look forward to returning to our respective families. Thank you to all who kept me and my family in their thoughts and prayers."

More than 200 foreigners have been taken hostage in Iraq since the war started in March 2003; more than 30 have been killed.

For the past 10 months, Susan Hallums had a small strip of paper taped to the front window of her Corona home that read "free our American hostage in Iraq." On Wednesday, she took it down.

"My favorite sayings are 'miracles will happen if you believe' and 'faith will see you through,"' she said. "I do believe in miracles."