Two Turkish engineers kidnapped in western Afghanistan last week were set free today and are on their way home.
"They are safe and now are flying to Turkey with a private aircraft," a Turkish Foreign Ministry official, who declined to be named, told Reuters. The pair would shortly arrive in Ankara.
Afghan police said their employers might have paid a ransom to secure their freedom. The company declined to comment.
Kidnapping has become a lucrative business in Afghanistan and scores of locals and foreigners have been abducted by criminals or Taliban-linked militants in recent years.
The Turkish nationals were working on a project in the western town of Islam Qala, bordering Iran.
Gokhan Gul and Erhan Gunduz were both working for the Turkish construction company Gulsan Insaat.
Islam Qala is on the main border crossing with Iran, a place where there is little Taliban activity. Criminals, however, have carried out kidnappings in the past and handed over their captives to the Taliban in return for money.
Reuters
