Kidnapped Dutch aid worker released in northern Afghanistan

Dec 3, 2010, 9:14 GMT

Kunduz, Afghanistan - A Dutch aid worker and his Afghan driver have been released after being kidnapped by unknown gunmen in northern Afghanistan, officials said Friday.

Peter Oosterhuis was released after 'a long negotiation between tribal elders and the kidnappers succeeded' on Friday, said Amanuddin Khan, a senior official for Streams Afghanistan, the hostage's employer.

Oosterhuis appeared thin and pale and was currently being treated in a German military hospital in the region, he said.

The aid worker was kidnapped along with his driver, Shir Agha, on October 25 in Bangi district of Takhar province. The hostages were then believed to have been transported to the neighbouring province of Kunduz.

Khan said that no ransom was paid, because the tribal elders convinced the abductors that the hostage was 'an ordinary aid worker who had come to Afghanistan to help the people.'

However, an intelligence source, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, said that the ransom demand had been at least a six-digit dollar figure.

Afghan security officials had offered to rescue the hostages, but the Streams organization ruled out any use of force, saying it could endanger Oosterhuis's life, Khan said.

In September, suspected Taliban militants kidnapped a British aid worker in eastern province of Kunar. Linda Norgrove, 36, was later killed by a grenade thrown by US soldiers during a botched rescue attempt in October.

Streams Afghanistan supports disabled children and their parents in the northern region.

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