Baghdad, Iraq ? American reporter Jill Carroll’s three-month hostage ordeal ended Thursday when she was left on a Baghdad street in front of a Sunni political party office. She appeared composed and eager to talk about her 82 days held captive in a tiny room.

“It’s important people know that I was not harmed,” she said.

Wearing a green Islamic head scarf and a gray Iraqi robe, Carroll was dropped off at midday near an office of the Iraqi Islamic Party. She walked inside and was then driven 20 minutes to party headquarters, where she called her family and gave an interview to Baghdad Television before being handed over to U.S. authorities.

The 28-year-old freelancer for The Christian Science Monitor said her kidnappers confined her to a small, soundproof room with frosted windows but treated her well. Although her captors issued televised threats to kill Carroll if American forces did not release female prisoners, she said: “They never said they would hit me, never threatened me in any way.”

Carroll said she did not know who her kidnappers were, where she was held or why she was set free. Shortly before she was released, the journalist said, “They just came to me and said, ‘OK, we’re letting you go now.’ That’s all.”

Writer Jill Carroll says she did not know where in Iraq she was kept hostage.

The U.S. ambassador said there was no ransom paid by the American embassy, but his remarks left open the question of whether “arrangements” were made by others. None of the kidnappers was captured, he said.

In the interview, Carroll seemed well and animated and spoke in a strong voice. She appeared excited to be free nearly three months after she was ambushed and her translator killed.

Carroll’s father, Jim, said he was asleep when the phone rang about 6 a.m. at his home in Chapel Hill, N.C. “Hi, Dad. This is Jill. I’m released,” the voice on the other end said.

“Obviously we are thrilled and relieved that she has been released,” he said.

Carroll was abducted Jan. 7 in Baghdad’s western Adil neighborhood while going to interview Sunni Arab politician Adnan al-Dulaimi. Her translator was killed in the attack about 300 yards from al-Dulaimi’s office.