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UK reporter freed in Afghan raid Four die in Afghan rescue mission
(about 3 hours later)
A UK journalist abducted in Afghanistan has been freed by Nato troops in a dramatic pre-dawn raid. Nato soldiers have rescued a kidnapped UK journalist from the Taliban in a dramatic pre-dawn helicopter mission in Afghanistan that left four others dead.
New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell was kidnapped on Saturday along with Afghan interpreter Sultan Munadi while investigating a Nato air strike. New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell was freed unhurt. His Afghan colleague Sultan Munadi was killed along with a UK soldier and two Afghan civilians.
Mr Munadi - a father of two - was killed during the rescue operation. Mr Farrell, who holds British and Irish nationality, was "extracted" by "a lot of soldiers", the New York Times said.
Farrell, who holds dual British-Irish nationality, said he was "extracted" by "a lot of soldiers" after a fierce firefight, the New York Times reports. The pair were seized in northern Kunduz province on Saturday.
Special forces? They were investigating a Nato air strike on two hijacked fuel tankers that left many dead.
Farrell, 46, had travelled to Kunduz in northern Afghanistan to investigate an air strike last Friday on two hijacked fuel tankers, in which dozens of civilians reportedly died. There were bullets all around us, I could hear British and Afghan voices Stephen Farrell class="" href="/2/hi/south_asia/8245768.stm">Kidnap reporter 'fearless' class="" href="/2/hi/south_asia/1549285.stm">Who are the Taliban? class="" href="/2/hi/middle_east/3610521.stm">Farrell 'kidnapped' in Iraq
The Talibs all ran, it was obviously a raid, we thought they would kill us, there were bullets all around Stephen Farrell class="" href="/2/hi/south_asia/1549285.stm">Who are the Taliban? class="" href="/2/hi/middle_east/3610521.stm">Farrell 'kidnapped' in Iraq It is not the first time Farrell has been abducted on assignment - in 2004 he was briefly kidnapped in Iraq while working for the London Times newspaper.
It is not the first time Farrell has been abducted on assignment - in 2004 he was kidnapped in the Iraqi city of Falluja while working for the London Times newspaper. In remarks quoted on the New York Times website, Farrell said the Taliban tried to flee as the helicopters descended.
The New York Times website reported he phoned the foreign editor of the newspaper at about 0030 BST (2330 GMT) and said: "I'm out! I'm free." Farrell said he also called his wife. "There were bullets all around us. I could hear British and Afghan voices," he said.
In a second telephone call to his newspaper, he said he and his captors had heard helicopters approach before the rescue. The reporter told his newspaper he ran outside with Mr Munadi, reportedly a 34-year-old Afghan father-of-two who was on a break from university studies in Germany.
"We were all in a room, the Talibs all ran, it was obviously a raid," Farrell told the New York Times. "We thought they would kill us. We thought should we go out." He said Mr Munadi shouted: "Journalist! Journalist!" But he was shot and collapsed.
'British voices' Farrell said he did not know whether the shots had been fired by their rescuers or the militants.
The reporter said he ran outside with his interpreter, who AFP news agency reports was a 34-year-old man working in Afghanistan while on a break from university studies in Germany.
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Afghan police inspect the car from which Stephen Farrell and Sultan Munadi were kidnappedAfghan police inspect the car from which Stephen Farrell and Sultan Munadi were kidnapped
"There were bullets all around us. I could hear British and Afghan voices," Farrell continued. The correspondent said he was beckoned by British voices from a ditch where he had hid, and as he emerged saw the body of Mr Munadi.
He said Mr Munadi - a reporter who was working as a translator - advanced shouting: "Journalist! Journalist!" But the translator was shot and collapsed. Journalists' anger
Some reports from Afghanistan suggest that British special forces were involved in the rescue. The head of the Afghan Independent Journalists' Association, Rahimullah Samandar, said the raid showed international forces did not care about Afghan reporters.
But a UK defence ministry spokeswoman told the BBC: "It was a Nato operation, we do not comment on special forces." Mr Samandar said it was not the first time a kidnapped Afghan journalist had been killed while a Western colleague was freed.
Farrell said he did not know whether the shots had been fired by their rescuers or the militants. Bill Keller, the executive editor of the New York Times, said the newspaper was "overjoyed" at Farrell's release, but "deeply saddened it came at such a cost".
The correspondent said he dived into a ditch and after a minute or two, shouted: "British hostage!" Afghan journalists have condemned the translator's killing
Farrell then heard British voices telling him to come over and as he did, saw the body of Mr Munadi. A local governor told the BBC two civilians also died in the raid.
'Taliban is coming!' A resident of Char Dara district in Kunduz province, Mohammad Nabi, reportedly said it was his home that was raided, and that his brother's wife was killed.
Bill Keller, the executive editor of the New York Times, said: "We're overjoyed that Steve is free, but deeply saddened that his freedom came at such a cost." The Taliban had turned up there on Tuesday night with the journalist and interpreter, demanding shelter, Mr Nabi told Reuters news agency.
Up to 70 civilians were killed in the Kunduz air strike, reports say He said helicopters arrived later and "then the soldiers blew open the door of my house, killing my sister-in-law, and took the reporter away with them".
The two were kidnapped in the Kunduz area on Saturday while investigating the Nato air strike of a day earlier that unconfirmed reports say left some 70 civilians dead. Farrell and Mr Munadi were kidnapped in Kunduz province on Saturday while investigating the Nato air strike a day earlier when a German commander called in a US jet to bomb two hijacked fuel tankers.
German commanders had called in a US jet to bomb two hijacked fuel tankers, and the New York Times team was in the area to cover the story. Unconfirmed reports have suggested at least 70 civilians died.
Their driver, who escaped the kidnapping, told the newspaper they had been interviewing villagers about the bombing at the site of the burned-out fuel tankers. The New York Times pair were reportedly interviewing villagers at the site of the burned-out trucks when gunfire rang out and a group of armed militants arrived.
An old man approached the visitors and warned them twice to leave. Then gunfire rang out and people started shouting: "The Taliban is coming!"
The driver said he ran away across fields after seeing a group of about 10 armed militants running toward them.
Farrell is the second New York Times journalist to be kidnapped in Afghanistan in a year.Farrell is the second New York Times journalist to be kidnapped in Afghanistan in a year.
In June, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Rohde and his Afghan colleague were abducted in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and moved across the border to Pakistan from where they escaped. In June, Pulitzer Prize-winner David Rohde and an Afghan colleague were abducted in Kabul and taken to Pakistan, where they escaped.