Taliban frees kidnapped ICRC staff

Taliban insurgents have freed four staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) they had kidnapped in Afghanistan…

Taliban insurgents have freed four staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) they had kidnapped in Afghanistan three days ago, an ICRC statement said.

"The unconditional release of our four colleagues is a great relief to us and their families," Franz Rauchenstein, deputy head of the ICRC delegation in Kabul, said in a statement.

The four men, two Afghans, a Macedonian and a citizen of Burma, were seized by the Taliban in Wardak province, southwest of the Afghan capital Kabul on Wednesday.

The ICRC team was returning from a failed mission to facilitate the release of a German engineer kidnapped by the Taliban in July.

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The Taliban have kidnapped dozens of Afghans and foreigners in recent months as part of their campaign to create an atmosphere of insecurity, and undermine the government and its Western backers.

The ICRC said the four were safe and unharmed.

"No demands were made by the armed group. We have no indication at this stage of any reason behind this incident," said Claudia McGoldrick, ICRC spokeswoman in Geneva.

The ICRC maintains a strict neutrality in all armed conflicts which is usually respected across the globe.

In August, the ICRC helped facilitate talks between the Taliban and South Korean officials that led to the release of 21 Korean hostages after more than a month of captivity. Two other Koreans were killed