ianstone
09-27-2010, 08:30 AM
Taliban 'want to swap kidnapped British aid worker for Pakistani scientist jailed in the U.S.'
By Andrew Levy (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Andrew+Levy) and Daniel Bates (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Daniel+Bates)
Last updated at 12:53 PM on 27th September 2010
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Massive hunt on for woman believed to be in her 30s
Militants claiming to have kidnapped a female British aid worker are believed to be demanding an exchange for the jailed Pakistani scientist Aafia Siddiqui.
The doctor, who was working for a charity, was travelling with three Afghan men in a two-vehicle convoy when they were ambushed yesterday morning.
At first the Taliban said it was not responsible for the adbuction, but a local commander named as Mohammed Osman, today claimed he had taken the group.
Osman told the Afghan Islamic Press: 'We are lucky that we abducted this British woman so soon after the ruthless ruling by an American court on Aafia Siddiqui.
'We will demand the release of Siddqui in exchange for her.'
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/26/article-1315374-063E4BFA000005DC-144_468x286.jpg Bleak: Kunar Province in Afghanistan where the British woman was taken
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/27/article-1315374-0AB7F37E000005DC-803_233x333.jpg The kidnap comes barely a month after British doctor Dr Karen Woo (pictured) was shot dead in an ambush
Siddiqui, a 38-year-old mother-of-three neuroscientist, was jailed for 86 years last week by a New York court for the attempted murder of U.S. agents and soldiers who were trying to interrogate her in Afghanistan
The British embassy in Kabul would not discuss the report.
Meanwhile, an extensive search is being carried out for the unnamed British woman who was led away on foot by her captors despite a firefight with local police.
The attack comes barely a month after British doctor Dr Karen Woo, 36, was shot dead in an ambush in which eight foreign aid workers and two Afghans were killed.
The motive for the latest kidnapping is not clear but insurgent involvement is likely as the Taliban usually take foreigners alive.
It is believed that the doctor worked for a U.S. charity, Development Alternatives International (DAI), which implements agricultural projects on behalf of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
She is believed to be in her 30s and has spent several years working in Afghanistan.
The group were attacked as they travelled from Kunar province to Jalalabad, a rugged region close to the border with Pakistan which is a known Taliban stronghold.
It is understood the woman and her travel companions – two drivers and a guard – were on their way to an opening ceremony for a canal rehabilitation project in the Narang district of Kunar. Police chief in Kunar, General Abdul Saboor Allahyar, said gunmen intercepted the woman’s convoy at around 11am.
A major search operation was under way with the assistance of tribal elders.
DAI spokesman Steven O’Connor confirmed the organisation was treating the incident as a ‘suspected abduction’ and resolving it was their ‘absolute first priority’.
Enlarge http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/26/article-1315374-0B5CF1CB000005DC-272_468x330.jpg (http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/26/article-1315374-0B5CF1CB000005DC-272_468x330_popup.jpg)
The group were attacked as they travelled to Jalalabad, a rugged region close to the border with Pakistan which is a known Taliban stronghold
‘The evidence does not point towards them getting lost,’ he said.
‘The woman who appears to have been kidnapped is one of our veterans. She is a complete professional and has many years of experience.’
The Foreign Office confirmed last night that a British national was missing in Afghanistan.
A spokesman said: ‘We are working with other international agencies to investigate these reports urgently.’
A Taliban spokesman said he was unaware of the kidnapping.
Kunar is an area held by the Taliban where a number of foreign nationals have been kidnapped in recent years.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for Dr Woo’s death, saying she had been ‘preaching Christianity’ – a claim dismissed by family and friends who say she was not religious.
However there are suspicions that bandits may have been responsible, as the victims had been robbed when their bodies were found.
Two French journalists were seized last December to the north-east of Kabul, but were later released.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1315592/Taliban-want-swap-kidnapped-British-aid-worker-Pakistani-scientist-jailed-U-S.html#ixzz10jT12iCB
By Andrew Levy (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Andrew+Levy) and Daniel Bates (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Daniel+Bates)
Last updated at 12:53 PM on 27th September 2010
Comments (0) (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1315592/Taliban-want-swap-kidnapped-British-aid-worker-Pakistani-scientist-jailed-U-S.html#comments)
Add to My Stories (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1315592/Taliban-want-swap-kidnapped-British-aid-worker-Pakistani-scientist-jailed-U-S.html)
Massive hunt on for woman believed to be in her 30s
Militants claiming to have kidnapped a female British aid worker are believed to be demanding an exchange for the jailed Pakistani scientist Aafia Siddiqui.
The doctor, who was working for a charity, was travelling with three Afghan men in a two-vehicle convoy when they were ambushed yesterday morning.
At first the Taliban said it was not responsible for the adbuction, but a local commander named as Mohammed Osman, today claimed he had taken the group.
Osman told the Afghan Islamic Press: 'We are lucky that we abducted this British woman so soon after the ruthless ruling by an American court on Aafia Siddiqui.
'We will demand the release of Siddqui in exchange for her.'
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/26/article-1315374-063E4BFA000005DC-144_468x286.jpg Bleak: Kunar Province in Afghanistan where the British woman was taken
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/27/article-1315374-0AB7F37E000005DC-803_233x333.jpg The kidnap comes barely a month after British doctor Dr Karen Woo (pictured) was shot dead in an ambush
Siddiqui, a 38-year-old mother-of-three neuroscientist, was jailed for 86 years last week by a New York court for the attempted murder of U.S. agents and soldiers who were trying to interrogate her in Afghanistan
The British embassy in Kabul would not discuss the report.
Meanwhile, an extensive search is being carried out for the unnamed British woman who was led away on foot by her captors despite a firefight with local police.
The attack comes barely a month after British doctor Dr Karen Woo, 36, was shot dead in an ambush in which eight foreign aid workers and two Afghans were killed.
The motive for the latest kidnapping is not clear but insurgent involvement is likely as the Taliban usually take foreigners alive.
It is believed that the doctor worked for a U.S. charity, Development Alternatives International (DAI), which implements agricultural projects on behalf of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
She is believed to be in her 30s and has spent several years working in Afghanistan.
The group were attacked as they travelled from Kunar province to Jalalabad, a rugged region close to the border with Pakistan which is a known Taliban stronghold.
It is understood the woman and her travel companions – two drivers and a guard – were on their way to an opening ceremony for a canal rehabilitation project in the Narang district of Kunar. Police chief in Kunar, General Abdul Saboor Allahyar, said gunmen intercepted the woman’s convoy at around 11am.
A major search operation was under way with the assistance of tribal elders.
DAI spokesman Steven O’Connor confirmed the organisation was treating the incident as a ‘suspected abduction’ and resolving it was their ‘absolute first priority’.
Enlarge http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/26/article-1315374-0B5CF1CB000005DC-272_468x330.jpg (http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/26/article-1315374-0B5CF1CB000005DC-272_468x330_popup.jpg)
The group were attacked as they travelled to Jalalabad, a rugged region close to the border with Pakistan which is a known Taliban stronghold
‘The evidence does not point towards them getting lost,’ he said.
‘The woman who appears to have been kidnapped is one of our veterans. She is a complete professional and has many years of experience.’
The Foreign Office confirmed last night that a British national was missing in Afghanistan.
A spokesman said: ‘We are working with other international agencies to investigate these reports urgently.’
A Taliban spokesman said he was unaware of the kidnapping.
Kunar is an area held by the Taliban where a number of foreign nationals have been kidnapped in recent years.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for Dr Woo’s death, saying she had been ‘preaching Christianity’ – a claim dismissed by family and friends who say she was not religious.
However there are suspicions that bandits may have been responsible, as the victims had been robbed when their bodies were found.
Two French journalists were seized last December to the north-east of Kabul, but were later released.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1315592/Taliban-want-swap-kidnapped-British-aid-worker-Pakistani-scientist-jailed-U-S.html#ixzz10jT12iCB