Joy of freed aid hostages

Eight humanitarian aid workers held by the Taliban on charges of preaching Christianity were flown to freedom today after being abandoned in their prison cell as their captors fled advancing opposition forces.

There were scenes of joy at Islamabad's military air base when an American special forces helicopter landed with all eight aboard shortly before dawn. American Heather Mercer, 24, was hugged by her father John, who has kept a vigil in Pakistan since she and her colleagues from the German-based Shelter Now charity were arrested by the Taliban 14 weeks ago.

With her was fellow American Dayna Curry; Germans Georg Taubmann, Katrin Jelinek, Margrit Stebner and Silke Durrkopf; and Australians Peter Bunch and Diana Thomas. Ms Curry's mother, Nancy, greeted their arrival with the American ambassador to Pakistan, Wendy Chamberlin. The Americans were taken to their embassy in Islamabad, the Germans to their embassy and the Australians to the home of their high commissioner, Howard Brown.

"They are all in good shape and in great spirits," a spokeswoman for the Australian high commissioner said.

"Our two are taking a bath and then we are going to give them breakfast. They have phoned home and they are two very, very happy people."

American press attache Mark Wentworth said Ms Mercer and Ms Curry were at the embassy with relatives. Ms Mercer had phoned her mother Deborah Oddy, in the US.

The Germans appeared briefly in the garden of their embassy, smiling and waving. Herr Taubmann said that as the Northern Alliance advanced on Kabul the Taliban panicked. "They packed us into a vehicle and we thought we were being taken to Kandahar," he said. "Then we stopped and they put us in a steel box - a shipping container - and locked us in there all night. We had no blankets and we were freezing."

They were then taken to another prison and locked in a tiny cell as a the Taliban fled Kabul on Tuesday.

Then, as the Northern Alliance troops took the city, they were released. "We just walked out into the streets," Herr Taubmann said. "People were waving and cheering us, although I'm not sure they knew who we were.

"It was like a miracle," he added. The eight located a Red Cross representative and their respective diplomatic missions in Islamabad were contacted. Then in the early hours of today a US special forces team flew into Kabul and picked them up in a helicopter gunship. There was no contact with Taliban forces. Medics gave them a checkup on the flight, but apart from looking rather thin they seemed in good health.

The eight were working for the Shelter Now Christian charity on projects to build homes for destitute Afghans forced from their villages by war and drought. They were arrested in August with 16 Afghan colleagues. The Afghans were held separately and although there were reports in Peshawar, Pakistan, that they had also been released there was no confirmation here.

All faced charges of preaching Christianity which could carry the death penalty under Taliban law. The Taliban ignored all appeals for their release and rejected John Mercer's offer to exchange himself for his daughter. At one point the Taliban brought them out to show a delegation of Pakistani officials, a move which prompted fears that they could be used as hostages or human shields.

The Taliban began a trial shortly before the American air strikes began five weeks ago. The evidence against the Christians was based on a collection of books found in their possession. They included Bible stories and a children's book on the life of Jesus. Shortly after their arrest they were

allowed a brief visit from family members but were then cut off from all communication.

The last official word came a week ago when a Taliban official said their trial had been adjourned sine die. He added that the American bombing campaign had made it impossible to find a judge who would not be prejudiced.

News of the release prompted hoots of delight at the church in Waco, Texas, where the two Americans among the group were members. "We're very excited. There's been lots of hooting and hollering around here since we heard the news," said Antioch Community Church employee Sara Selke.

Ms Mercer and Ms Curry were members of the evangelical, non-denominational church when they attended nearby Baylor University. The 1,000-member church has kept up a 24-hour prayer vigil for the women for weeks. John Finkelde, senior minister at the home church in Perth, Western Australia, of Australians Peter Bunch and Diana Thomas, said the release was fantastic news.

"We are just thrilled and their families will be having parties by now," he said. But Mr Finkelde, of Perth's North City Pentecostal Church, said he did not expect the Australians or their colleagues to return home immediately. "The plan has always been for them to go to Europe to a retreat centre for some debriefing and some counselling for a couple of weeks first," he said.

"Then they will come home. I don't know if they would want to go back out after that. Getting them home safe and well is the only thing right now."

As the news was announced President Bush said he had been worried that the Taliban would take the aid workers to a building that might be bombed by US planes. He added: "I'm really proud of our armed forces. I'm also thankful for the folks in Afghanistan who helped with this rescue."

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