KABUL, 21 August 2007 — Afghan police rescued a female German aid worker in a dramatic pre-dawn swoop yesterday but efforts to free 19 South Koreans and another German held captive for over a month remain deadlocked, officials said. The Interior Ministry, which handles police matters, said a criminal gang motivated by money was behind the weekend kidnapping of Christina Meier in the Afghan capital Kabul.
“The motive behind the kidnapping was mainly ransom. They had demanded a big sum — about a million dollars,” ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary told reporters. “Initial investigations indicate that this group is a criminal gang and their main aim on this issue was to get money.”
The rescue overseen by senior security officials including Interior Minister Zarar Ahmad Muqbel was made after police surrounded the house in southwest Kabul where Meier was being held, officials said.
Police Col. Ghulam Rasoul, who took part in the operation, told AFP that six kidnappers were arrested, but Bashary said only four including the gang leader were in custody and being questioned. “We located the house where she was kept. We surrounded the house and called on the kidnappers to surrender to police. They came out one by one and surrendered and then we freed the hostage. She’s fine,” Rasoul said.
The German Foreign Ministry confirmed that Meier — who was seized at gunpoint in broad daylight on Saturday at a Kabul restaurant — had been rescued and was now at the German Embassy in the capital.
Her kidnapping, the latest in a string of such incidents involving foreigners, had stoked fears of a drawn-out hostage crisis with one of her apparent captors, his face covered, using a video released on Sunday to demand the release of jailed Afghans in exchange for her freedom.
He said the kidnappers were not Taleban, and an Afghan intelligence source that did not want to be identified said some had criminal backgrounds. However, the hard-line Islamic militia has also been insisting on a prisoner release in exchange for the Korean Christian aid workers it has been holding since July 19. Face-to-face talks over hostages failed Saturday.
Taleban signaled growing impatience with negotiations as sources close to the talks said they had turned down a cash ransom. The kidnappers accused Korean hostage negotiators of not doing enough to persuade the Afghan government to accept their demands to release Taleban prisoners.
