German Hostage Released: Aid Worker Kidnapped On Kabul Street

A female German aid worker who was kidnapped in Afghanistan has been released in good condition, according to the humanitarian agency GIZ. The victim's name has not been released, and few details were immediately available other than the knowledge that the woman had been forced out of her car by two people carrying weapons.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters Saturday the kidnapping victim is “doing well, considering the circumstances.” She was driving in the Kala-e-Fatullah district in Kabul, where many foreigners live, nine weeks ago when her car was stopped and she was pulled out of her car. The woman was working for GIZ, which operates in more than 120 countries, when she was taken, according to the German news agency DPA.

“We are very relieved and happy that our employee is free again,” Tanja Gonner, a spokesperson for GIZ, told the news site Deutsche Welle.

Her abduction marked the second kidnapping of a foreign GIZ aid worker in 2015. The first incident, involving a man who was taken from the Kunduz province, ended with a rescue after 40 days.

Another aid worker, from the United Arab Emirates, was killed in Yemen Saturday. A Yemeni official told Reuters the man exited an armored car and was shot by a group of armed men. No one has claimed responsibility for the killing, but al Qaeda and the Islamic State terrorist group have gained ground in Yemen since war broke out seven months ago.