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. |
"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.