Article

2007-10-10 Afghanistan

German hostage released in exchange for six Talibs

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A German engineer and four Afghans taken hostage in July were freed Wednesday in exchange for six Taliban fighters, an Afghan official said. Rudolf Blechschmidt and the four Afghans were handed over by local elders to officials from Afghanistan's intelligence service in the Jaghato district of Wardak province, said the district chief, Mohammad Nahim. Six detained Taliban militants had been freed in the swap, he said.

The hostage-taker's father was one of the six springees, and the Afghan gov't now sez they were "criminals", not Taliban.

In Germany, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier confirmed that Blechschmidt had been freed, and the former captive told Spiegel magazine on his release that he was "doing well."

"I'm just a little tired," he told the magazine in a short telephone interview posted on its Web site.

Blechschmidt had also talked with the German ambassador by telephone and confirmed he was safely in the custody of Afghan security forces, Steinmeier said in a statement. "We are all pleased and relieved," Steinmeier said.

Posted by anonymous5089 2007-10-10 09:25|| || Front Page|| [5 views ] Top

#1 Update :

5 Criminals Exchanged for German Captive

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A German engineer and four Afghans taken hostage in July were freed Wednesday in exchange for five imprisoned criminals, an Afghan official said.
Rudolf Blechschmidt and the four Afghans were handed over by local elders to officials from Afghanistan's intelligence service in the Jaghato district of Wardak province, said the district chief, Mohammad Nahim.

Nahim at first said that six Taliban militants had been freed in the swap. But he later said no Taliban had been released and that five imprisoned criminals had been freed. He said one of the criminals was the father of the Taliban commander who had taken the German and Afghans.

Nahim said the exchange had been arranged by Afghan elders. An Interior Ministry spokesman confirmed the release but said he didn't have further details about how it was arranged. (...)

Posted by anonymous5089 2007-10-10 11:45|| 2007-10-10 11:45|| Front Page Top

#2 Hope they took retina scans, finger prints etc. of the released persons. Someday we should also put GPS inplants in these people, maybe even with little explosive devices to prevent tampering.

Posted by mhw">mhw 2007-10-10 12:08|| http://hypocrisy-incorporated.blogspot.com/]">[http://hypocrisy-incorporated.blogspot.com/] 2007-10-10 12:08|| Front Page Top

#3 Read some interesting info on the below site re The relationship between ISI and Taliban funded by Saudis.

LINK

Posted by Paul 2007-10-10 13:03|| 2007-10-10 13:03|| Front Page Top

#4 Can someone explain the difference between "criminals" and "Taliban" in Afghanistan?

Posted by Jack is Back!">Jack is Back! 2007-10-10 16:20|| 2007-10-10 16:20|| Front Page Top

#5 Those zany German businessmen-always closing the deal!

Posted by Jules 2007-10-10 17:43|| 2007-10-10 17:43|| Front Page Top

#6 Can someone explain the difference between "criminals" and "Taliban"

The spelling.

Posted by Zenster">Zenster 2007-10-10 19:02|| 2007-10-10 19:02|| Front Page Top

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