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Hikers Back on US Soil

Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal land in New York on long-awaited return home

By Polly Davis Doig, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 25, 2011 10:59 AM CDT

(Newser) – After a wait of more than two years, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal are back on US soil. The pair, best known as stray hikers imprisoned in Iran, touched down at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York today at 11am EDT on the first leg of their long-awaited return to the United States, reports the AP. Bauer and Fattal departed Oman last night with gratitude for their hosts, saying, "We hope to someday return to this wonderful country, but for now we are eager to go home at last."

US hikers Shane Bauer, right, and Josh Fattal, smile, at the Tehran's Mehrabad airport before leaving Iran. The pair have landed at JFK Airport in New York. (AP Photo/IRNA, Ehsan Nederipour)

Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal, and Sarah Shourd, right, Bauer's fiance, wave from the door to an airplane before leaving for the United States at the airport in Muscat, Oman, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Sultan al-Hasani)

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(NEWSER) - After more than a year in an Iranian prison, American hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal are headed to trial, says Iran's intelligence minister. "The two Americans will be tried," Heidar Moslehi said. "We will hand any evidence we have to the judiciary." Hillary Clinton confirmed that she'd been told of a Nov. 6 trial date, but still hoped for the hikers' release, reports Reuters. More»

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Hikers Back on US Soil

Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal land in New York on long-awaited return home

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