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bobdina
09-09-2009, 01:47 PM
KABUL – British commandos freed a New York Times reporter an early Wednesday raid on a Taliban hide-out in northern Afghanistan. The journalist's Afghan translator and one of the troops were killed in the rescue, officials said.

Reporter Stephen Farrell was taken hostage Saturday along with his translator in the northern province of Kunduz when they went to cover a German-ordered airstrike of two hijacked fuel tankers. The bombing, carried out by U.S. jets, caused a number of civilian casualties.

One British service member died during the raid, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said, while the Times reported that Farrell's Afghan translator, Sultan Munadi, 34, also was killed. Brown said "we send his family our condolences." Farrell was unhurt.

Gunfire rang out from multiple sides during the rescue, and a Taliban commander who was in the house was killed, along with the owner of the house and a woman, said Mohammad Sami Yowar, a spokesman for the Kunduz governor.

Munadi was killed in the midst of the firefight, he said. A British defense official said he couldn't rule out the possibility he was killed by British gunfire.

Afghan officials over the weekend said about 70 people died when U.S. jets dropped two bombs on the tankers, igniting them in a massive explosion. There were reports that villagers who had come to collect fuel from the tankers were among the dead, and Farrell wanted to interview villagers.

The Times reported that while Farrell and Munadi were talking to Afghans near the site of the bombing, an old man approached them and warned them to leave. Soon after, gunshots rang out and people shouted that the Taliban were approaching.

Police had warned reporters who traveled to the capital of Kunduz to cover the tanker strike that the village in question was controlled by the Taliban, and it would be dangerous to go there.

The Times kept the kidnappings quiet out of concern for the men's safety, and other media outlets, including The Associated Press, did not report the abductions following a request from the Times.

A story posted on the Times' Web site quoted Farrell as saying he had been "extracted" by a commando raid carried out by "a lot of soldiers" in a firefight.

British special forces dropped from helicopters early Wednesday onto the house where the two were being kept, and a gunbattle broke out, Yowar said.

Farrell, 46, a dual Irish-British citizen, told the Times that he saw Munadi step forward shouting "Journalist! Journalist!" but he then fell in a volley of bullets. Farrell said he did not know if the shots came from militants or the rescuing forces.

"I dived in a ditch," said Farrell. Moments later, he said he heard British voices and shouted, "British hostage!" The British voices told him to come over. As he did, Farrell said he saw Munadi.

"He was lying in the same position as he fell," Farrell told the Times. "That's all I know. I saw him go down in front of me. He did not move. He's dead. He was so close, he was just two feet in front of me when he dropped."

A British defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the incident, said he was not able to rule out the possibility that Munadi was killed by soldiers carrying out the rescue mission amid a fierce firefight with the journalists' captors.

"All reports of civilian fatalities are always investigated thoroughly," Britain's defense ministry said in a statement.

New York Times executive editor Bill Keller said he had understood from the military that they did not intend to conduct a raid unless the situation turned "particularly menacing, and they had actionable intelligence and a high probability of success."

Keller said he doesn't know what triggered the decision to carry out the raid, but that Farrell told him the situation had turned "menacing." Keller said it was possible the militants may have planned to move the hostages and said he would not second guess the military's decision to take action.

The British prime minister said the operation was carried out after "extensive planning and consideration" and that those involved knew the high risks they faced. Brown called the mission "breathtaking heroism."

"As we all know, and as last night once again demonstrated, our armed forces have the skill and courage to act. They are truly the finest among us, and all of us in Britain pay tribute to them, and to the families and communities who sustain them in their awesome responsibilities," Brown said.

Several Western reporters have been kidnapped in Afghanistan in the last several years, mostly while traveling in dangerous districts but also in and around Kabul. Kidnappings by the Taliban are often for ideological reasons, though kidnappings by criminals are done for ransom payments. Afghan businessmen in Kabul have been frequently targeted by criminal kidnappers during the last few years.

At least 16 Afghan and foreign journalists have been kidnapped in Afghanistan since January 2002, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Canadian journalist Mellissa Fung and a Dutch reporter were kidnapped separately in or near Kabul last fall. Ransom was demanded in both cases and both were released within a month.

An American working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was kidnapped in August 2008 and held near Kabul for two months before being freed by U.S. Special Forces. The troops staged a nighttime raid on the captors' hideaway in October, the first known hostage rescue by American forces in Afghanistan.

Munadi was first employed by The New York Times in 2002, according to his colleagues. He left the company a few years later to work for a local radio station.

He left Afghanistan last year to study for a master's degree in Germany. He came back to Kabul last month for a holiday and to see his family and agreed to accompany Farrell to Kunduz on a freelance basis. He was married and had two young sons.

In a New York Times Web blog this month, Munadi wrote that he would never leave Afghanistan permanently and that "being a journalist is not enough; it will not solve the problems of Afghanistan. I want to work for the education of the country, because the majority of people are illiterate."

"And if I leave this country, if other people like me leave this country, who will come to Afghanistan?" he wrote. "Will it be the Taliban who come to govern this country? That is why I want to come back, even if it means cleaning the streets of Kabul."

Farrell joined the Times in 2007 in Baghdad. He has covered both the Afghan and Iraq conflicts for the paper.

He was briefly held hostage with a group of journalists traveling in Iraq in 2004, when he was working for The Times of London. Militants questioned him and the others for about 10 hours before letting them go, he told CNN afterward.

Farrell was the second Times journalist to be kidnapped in Afghanistan in a year.

In June, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Rohde and his Afghan colleague Tahir Ludin escaped from their Taliban captors in northwestern Pakistan. They had been abducted Nov. 10 south of Kabul and were moved across the border.

Keller said that reporters in the field are allowed a great deal of leeway, and that they are the best ones to judge the level of risk but that the Times would carry out a security review after the latest abduction.

ghost
09-09-2009, 02:26 PM
Excellent read, Bob. Thanks for sharing.

British SAS, I'm assuming. I'm sure Scott is happy about this.:thumbup:

bobdina
09-09-2009, 02:30 PM
British soldier killed in Afghan hostage rescue
A Military Operations news article

9 Sep 09

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has issued a statement on an operation in Afghanistan to free hostage Stephen Farrell, a journalist of dual British/Irish nationality.
Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence

The Prime Minister said:

"Last night, Stephen Farrell, a journalist of dual British/Irish nationality, was freed from Taliban captivity in a British operation supported by the Afghan authorities and our NATO allies.

"He is now safe and well, receiving support from embassy staff and undergoing medical checks. Sadly, we were unable to rescue Stephen's Afghan interpreter, Sultan Munadi, and we send his family our condolences.

"It is with very deep sadness that I must also confirm that, while acting with the greatest of courage in this most dangerous mission, one member of the British Armed Forces lost his life.

"His family has been informed, and our immediate thoughts are with them. His bravery will not be forgotten.

"This operation was carried out after extensive planning and consideration. Those involved knew the high risks they were running. That they undertook it in such circumstances showed breathtaking heroism. I also want to thank the Afghan authorities and our NATO allies for their support.

"Hostage taking is never justified, and the UK does not make substantive concessions, including paying ransoms. But whenever British nationals are kidnapped, we and our allies will do everything in our power to free them.

"As we all know, and as last night once again demonstrated, our Armed Forces have the skill and courage to act. They are truly the finest among us, and all of us in Britain pay tribute to them, and to the families and communities who sustain them in their awesome responsibilities."

GTFPDQ
09-09-2009, 02:34 PM
Quite the rescue, good skills from the troops. Sad loss of a man, RIP.

As usual the UK MoD wont talk about special forces operations, and thats the way it should be.

bobdina
09-09-2009, 02:43 PM
Gordon Brown approved a mission to rescue the British journalist Stephen Farrell in which a member of the Special Forces was killed this morning, The Times has learnt.

Plans for the raid, in which Farrell’s Afghan interpreter, a civilian and dozens of Taleban fighters were also killed, were drawn up by British Special Forces commanders in Kabul during a weekend of secret planning.

Lieutenant-General Jim Dutton, a Royal Marine and deputy commander of Nato’s International Security Assistance Force, headed the team and Mr Brown, David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, and Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, were kept informed of what was being planned.

The Director Special Forces, a major-general who cannot be identified, has a direct phone link to the Prime Minister and would have informed Mr Brown in person of the risks involved. Whitehall sources confirmed that Mr Brown had given his approval for the rescue mission to go ahead.
A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "Ministers were kept informed throughout and supported the operation to secure the release of Mr Farrell."

Farrell, a New York Times journalist, was freed in the pre-dawn operation but his Afghan interpreter, Mohammad Sultan Munadi, was shot dead. A Taleban commander said that 48 of his men were killed in the raid, in which at least one civilian also died.

The pair were taken hostage by the Taleban on Saturday after travelling to the site of an air strike near Kunduz in which up to 125 people were killed.

Moments after this morning's raid Farrell phoned his American colleagues to say that he had been freed. He said: "We were all in a room, the Talebs all ran, it was obviously a raid. We thought they would kill us. We thought should we go out."

The two hostages ran outside. "There were bullets all around us. I could hear British and Afghan voices," he added.

Farrell said that Munadi went forward, shouting: "Journalist! Journalist!" but dropped in a hail of bullets. "I dived in a ditch," he said, adding that he did not know whether the shots had come from allied or militant fire.

After a minute or two, the dual Irish-British national who is a former Middle East correspondent for The Times, said that he heard more British voices and shouted: "British hostage!" The British voices told him to come over. As he did, he saw Munadi's body.

"He was lying in the same position as he fell," Mr Farrell said. "That’s all I know. I saw him go down in front of me. He did not move. He’s dead. He was so close, he was just two feet in front of me when he dropped.The local Taleban commander who seized them, Shams ud-Din, was more brigand than ideologue, who had been in and out of jail for years before throwing in his lot with the Islamist guerrillas.

He had been attacking Nato supply convoys heading from Tajikistan, to the north, to Kabul to the south, including the hijacking of the petrol tankers. It was his men who heard the noise of approaching rotor blades and bolted for the door.

The Prime Minister, who was woken to hear news of the rescue, phoned the British commanders to thank the rescue team for its effort and pay tribute to the member of the Special Forces Support Group killed.

Mr Brown said in a statement: “It is with very deep sadness that I must also confirm that, while acting with the greatest of courage in this most dangerous mission, one member of the British armed forces lost his life.

"His family has been informed, and our immediate thoughts are with them. His bravery will not be forgotten.

“This operation was carried out after extensive planning and consideration. Those involved knew the high risks they were running. That they undertook it in such circumstances showed breathtaking heroism. I also want to thank the Afghan authorities and our Nato allies for their support.”

Mohammed Nabi, owner of the house which was raided, said that the troops left with Farrell, but not his Afghan colleague, whose body was found outside the house in the morning.

"Last night, a group of Taleban in two vehicles came to my house saying they needed shelter. We took them to our guest house. There was a foreign journalist and an Afghan translator with them," Mr Nabi told Reuters.

"At midnight, US helicopters came, dropping off soldiers. A clash broke out and then the soldiers blew open the door of my house, killing my sister-in-law, and took the reporter away with them."

Munadi had moved to Germany nine months ago to study journalism and had come to visit his family for Ramadan before returning. He had returned to work briefly at The New York Times, where he had worked before.

Efforts had been under way to negotiate both men’s release. Moen Marastial, an MP from the province, said: "We held a shura [council] on Sunday with 250 people to discuss the kidnapping and we asked people with links to the Taleban to send them a message.

"The men who kidnapped the journalists handed them over to a senior commander called Mullah Salaam. He sent us a message saying the men would be released, but that he was waiting for an order from his bosses. The deadline was yesterday."
arrell, who was writing a war blog for The New York Times, made a brief call to his office at around 5am local time, telling fellow journalists: "I'm out. I'm free."

Farrell, 46, travelled to Kunduz from Kabul on Friday afternoon and spent the night in the provincial capital. On Saturday morning he and Mr Sultan set off for Metarlam District, four miles outside the city, where two Nato bombs had left up to 125 people dead, including dozens of civilians.

German troops called in the airstrikes on two fuel tankers hijacked by the Taleban at 2.30am on Friday morning. Scores of local people had swarmed around the vehicles, which were stuck on a riverbed, to siphon off free fuel.

While Farrell and Munadi were interviewing Afghans near the site of the bombing, an old man approached them and warned them to leave. Soon after, gunshots rang out and people shouted that the Taleban were approaching.

Police had warned reporters who travelled to the capital of Kunduz that the village in question was controlled by the Taleban and it would be dangerous to go there.

There was a news blackout on the kidnap in an attempt to aid international efforts to secure the journalists’ release.

Bill Keller, the executive editor of The New York Times, said: "We feared that media attention would raise the temperature and increase the risk to the captives. We’re overjoyed that Steve is free, but deeply saddened that his freedom came at such a cost. We are doing all we can to learn the details of what happened. Our hearts go out to Sultan’s family."

Security officials had feared that they would be moved to Pakistan and handed over to al-Qaeda to be executed.

In June another New York Times reporter, David Rohde, escaped from an insurgent safehouse in Pakistan after seven months as a Taleban prisoner. Mr Rohde and his Afghan interpreter, Tahir Ludin, were kidnapped in Logar and smuggled into Pakistan.

In April 2004 Farrell suffered his first kidnap ordeal, in Fallujah, Iraq.

"When the first bunch of bandits arrived out of nowhere firing Kalashnikovs at us, the greatness or otherwise of the story couldn't have been further from my mind,” he said after being freed.

“All that was going through my head was: 'Are we going to die right here or are they going to take us off to a room somewhere, chain us to a radiator and kill us there?' I was certain we were dead."

ghost
09-09-2009, 03:59 PM
So, how come we responded so quickly, and came to the aid of a kidnapped journalist? But we can't even get our own guys(Bowe Bergdahl)?

Of course, this was definitely some good work.

GTFPDQ
09-09-2009, 05:45 PM
Actionable intelligence, actionable plan, manpower, early eyes on, pre-emptive permission, confirmation of target and go.

I think all this was a matter of all the ducks behaving and getting in a row double time.

gazzthompson
09-09-2009, 06:54 PM
So, how come we responded so quickly, and came to the aid of a kidnapped journalist? But we can't even get our own guys(Bowe Bergdahl)?
.

just the way it goes, getting the right intel at the right time.

ghost
09-10-2009, 06:54 PM
just the way it goes, getting the right intel at the right time.


Hmm. Yeah. I guess that's what it comes down to, sometimes.

Scott
09-10-2009, 07:21 PM
yeah im glad they done a good job, my condolences to the men who lost their lives R.I.P .

Bisley_Bob
09-11-2009, 05:43 AM
It said in the paper yesterday that it was a troop of SBS and a company from 1Para that took part in the operation.
In my opinion the life of one of those guys is nowhere near worth it for a reporter. He ignored advice from multiple sources to go into that area and he still went, what a dick.