US commandos rescue American hostage near Kabul

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
US Special Forces soldiers conducting a daring nighttime operation freed a kidnapped American working for the Army Corps of Engineers - the first known rescue by American forces in Afghanistan. The American, who was abducted in mid-August, had been held in a growing insurgent stronghold 50 kilometers west of Kabul, US military officials told The Associated Press. They said several insurgents were killed in last week's mission to free him. Taliban militants have kidnapped dozens of international aid workers, journalists and other foreigners in recent years and have demanded large ransoms or the release of imprisoned Taliban fighters for their freedom. Increasingly aggressive crime syndicates have also raked in big money by kidnapping wealthy Afghans and foreigners and demanding ransoms. Hostage rescues are rarely attempted and are difficult to pull off successfully. Only two such missions are known to have occurred, both in 2007. In one, both Italian captives were wounded in a raid by Italian commandos.