This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/8245862.stm

The article has changed 36 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 32 Version 33
UK serviceman dies in Afghan raid UK serviceman dies in Afghan raid
(8 minutes later)
A UK serviceman has been killed during a dramatic raid to rescue a kidnapped journalist in Afghanistan, the UK's defence ministry has confirmed.A UK serviceman has been killed during a dramatic raid to rescue a kidnapped journalist in Afghanistan, the UK's defence ministry has confirmed.
He died in a firefight with the Taliban during the operation to free New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell. Next of kin have been informed, the MoD said.He died in a firefight with the Taliban during the operation to free New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell. Next of kin have been informed, the MoD said.
Farrell, who holds dual British-Irish nationality, was "extracted" by "a lot of soldiers", the New York Times said. Mr Farrell, who holds British and Irish nationality, was "extracted" by "a lot of soldiers", the New York Times said.
His Afghan interpreter Sultan Munadi was killed during the operation. Journalist Sultan Munadi, who was working as an interpreter, also died.
'I'm free'
Mr Farrell, 46, had travelled to Kunduz in northern Afghanistan to investigate an air strike last Friday on two hijacked fuel tankers when he was kidnapped.
The New York Times website reported he phoned the foreign editor of the newspaper at about 0030 BST (2330 GMT) on Wednesday and said: "I'm out! I'm free." Mr Farrell said he also called his wife.
In a telephone call to his newspaper, he said he and his captors had heard helicopters approach before the dramatic rescue.
"We were all in a room, the Talibs all ran, it was obviously a raid," Mr Farrell told the New York Times. "We thought they would kill us. We thought should we go out."
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.
"There were bullets all around us. I could hear British and Afghan voices," he continued.
The correspondent said father-of-two Mr Munadi advanced shouting: "Journalist! Journalist!" But the translator was shot and collapsed.
Mr Farrell said he did not know whether the shots had been fired by militants or their rescuers.
He said he dived into a ditch and after a minute or two, shouted: "British hostage!"
Mr Farrell then heard British voices telling him to come over and as he did, saw the body of Mr Munadi.
Some reports from Afghanistan suggest that British special forces were involved in the rescue.
But a UK defence ministry spokeswoman told the BBC: "It was a Nato operation, we do not comment on special forces."
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."
It is not the first time Mr Farrell has been abducted while on assignment - in 2004 he was kidnapped in the Iraqi city of Falluja while working for the London Times newspaper.
Mr 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.