|
|
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Nayan, two others freed, officials say (11:47 a.m.)
KABUL -- Three UN workers kidnapped in Afghanistan have been released unharmed after more than three weeks in captivity, Afghan officials said Tuesday.
The hostages were released late Monday and are well, three Afghan officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Armed men seized Philippine diplomat Angelito Nayan, British-Irish citizen Annetta Flanigan and Shqipe Hebibi of Kosovo in Kabul on Oct. 28, the first such abduction in the Afghan capital since the Taliban fell three years ago.
Afghan officials believe a criminal gang carried out the abductions, and that negotiations have centered on a ransom demand.
But it remains unclear if the kidnappers are working for a Taliban-linked group that has claimed responsibility and demanded that Afghan and U.S. authorities free jailed comrades.
US and Afghan forces raided two houses in downtown Kabul on Monday, smashing through walls and doors to detain 10 people and question residents on whether they had seen the three missing UN workers.
Security forces began the assault in the west of the city at about 4 a.m., using rockets to blast a hole in a wall surrounding the two-story home of a doctor working for the United Nations, witnesses said. (AP) |
|
|
|
