Japanese hostage is alive, driver released in Afghanistan (3rd Lead)

Aug 26, 2008, 9:44 GMT

Kabul - A Japanese aid worker, who was kidnapped Tuesday in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar, was still alive and his driver was released by the abductors, said an aid official.

'I can confirm that the driver was released and he told us that our Japanese colleague is still alive, but in hands of his captors,' Noor Zaman, deputy director for Peshawar-Kai, a Japanese aid group, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

'This morning four armed men, who were hiding among the cornfield, arrested the Japanese worker as he was getting off from his vehicle in Khewa district to supervise a project,' Zaman said, citing the released driver.

Earlier Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, had reportedly claimed responsibility for the abduction and said that the Japanese hostage was killed during a clash between their fighters and Afghan security forces.

Zaman said that hundreds of local villagers and security forces were following the kidnappers, who were heading toward the neighbouring province of Kunar.

Earlier, Ghafour Khan, provincial police chief, said police forces were deployed to the area to track down the kidnappers.

Hundreds of local villagers and security forces surrounded a mountain, where they believed the kidnappers were hiding, Hazarat Ali, a member of parliament from the area told dpa.

'The people are very angry with the kidnapping, because the NGO was bringing water to the area from Kunar River and was building a school in their area,' Ali said.

No ransom request has been received for Kazuya Ito, 31. From central Japan, Ito had been conducting volunteer work as an agricultural specialist for Peshawar-kai since December 2003. The non-governmental organization has been assisting in digging wells and building irrigation systems.

Zaman said that his organization was building protecting walls against flood for a canal in the Khewa district, and the abduction happened when Ito was inspecting the project.

Taliban militants, who lost power in US-led invasion in late 2001, have been behind several kidnappings in the past, while abduction for ransom by criminal gangs have also become common in Afghanistan.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry set up a task force in Tokyo and at its embassy in Kabul to deal with the case.

This is the first time that a Japanese aid worker has been kidnapped in the country. Japan is one of the largest donors to Afghanistan.