BRITISH HOSTAGE RELEASED AFTER MORE THAN 2 1/2 YEARS IN CAPTIV ITY.(Main)

Byline: G.G. LaBelle Associated Press

In another breakthrough in the hostage crisis, kidnappers freed 77-year-old Briton Jack Mann on Tuesday after holding him for 865 days, and a Shiite Muslim leader said an American hostage may soon follow.

Walking painfully and stooped over, Mann was led by officials into a packed news conference at the Syrian Foreign Ministry, where he angrily denounced his captors for chaining him and ordering him around.

"This morning I started another dreadful day. ... I wondered how many more months I've got to stay. ... I wondered how much longer, how much longer, how much longer. Wondering how many more months I've got to …