BAGHDAD, Iraq – Jill Carroll, the American journalist kidnapped in Iraq, was released yesterday, saying she had not been harmed by the Sunni insurgents who seized her at gunpoint nearly 12 weeks ago.

The American ambassador to Iraq said no deal had been struck to secure her freedom, which had not involved an armed rescue. Her release appears to have been negotiated by the Iraqi Islamic Party, a leading Sunni political party that had called for her release.

Ms. Carroll, a 28-year-old freelance reporter for the Boston-based Christian Science Monitor newspaper, said she had been held in a room which she was allowed to leave only to go to the lavatory.

“I was allowed to read a newspaper only once and watch the television once just to make me aware of what was happening outside,” she said. “They never hit me. I was kept in a small safe place with nice furniture, plenty of food. I was allowed to take showers.”

She added: “It was difficult because I didn’t know what would happen to me. I am happy to be free. I just want to be with my family quickly.”

Her parents heard the news from their daughter when she woke them at 6 a.m. with a phone call. “Obviously we are thrilled and relieved that she had been released,” her father Jim said. “We want to thank all those who have supported and prayed for her.”

President Bush said his initial reaction to the news was “Thank God.”

Richard Bergenheim, the editor of the Christian Science Monitor, thanked those who had worked to find her. But he insisted: “There were absolutely no negotiations. We do not know all the details. We simply know she was dropped off at the Iraqi Islamic Party headquarters.”

After her kidnapping, Ms. Carroll was seen in three videos, appearing visibly distressed in one. Her captors, the Revenge Brigades, had warned she would be killed unless all female prisoners held by American forces were released.

The group grabbed her on January 7 near the offices of a Sunni politician whom she had intended to interview and who works closely with the Iraqi Islamic Party. Her translator, Allan Enwiyah, was killed in the attack.

Ms. Carroll was the first American woman to be taken hostage by kidnappers in Iraq and yesterday news bulletins across America led with her release. She is recovering at the American embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone and is expected to be reunited with her family in a few days.