Turkish Engineer Freed by Taliban

30/11/2003| IslamWeb

Taliban fighters freed a Turkish road engineer who was kidnapped a month ago in southern Afghanistan, officials said Sunday. During his captivity, Hasan Onal was apparently transferred to different villages with support from local people, said Mufit Ozdes, Turkey's ambassador to Afghanistan. His Taliban captors turned over the engineer Saturday night to tribal elders, who gave him to government officials. Afghan Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali said no money was paid for the engineer's release, nor did the government release any Taliban prisoners. At the Turkish Embassy, Omal spoke briefly by cell phone to his relatives back home, assuring them he was in good condition. Onal was abducted with his Afghan driver Oct. 30 while returning to a camp for workers repairing the Kabul-Kandahar highway with his Turkish company, Gulsan-Cukurova. The driver was freed with a ransom note demanding the release of Taliban prisoners. Mullah Rozi Khan, who described himself as a top Taliban official in southern Zabul province, telephoned news organizations on Saturday night to announce the release. "Taliban leaders have decided to hand over the Turkish engineer to tribal elders because he's a Muslim," he told an Associated Press reporter in the southern city of Kandahar. The decision to free Onal came after the Afghan government released two Taliban prisoners before last week's Islamic holiday of Eid-ul-Fitr, and the Taliban expect the government to release six more prisoners, Khan said. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Hasan Onal, a Turkish road engineer, pauses for a moment during a news conference, before he was handed over to Mufit Ozdes, Turkish Ambassador to Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2003. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)