WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. helicopters swooped into a field in Afghanistan on Wednesday to lift to freedom eight Western aid workers held for months by the Taliban under threat of execution.``This effort involved many people and several entities. U.S. forces performed the extraction well and the American people can be proud of them,'' Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in a statement read to reporters.
``The detainees are now in Pakistan. They seem to be in good physical condition,'' the statement in his name added.
The statement said three special operations helicopters buzzed into a field about 50 miles southwest of Kabul at 4:40 p.m. EST and picked up the two Americans, two Australians and four Germans who had been in Taliban detention on charges of alleged proselytizing since Aug. 5.
Few details of their release were available but one defense official said it was the result of ``non-confrontational'' negotiations between the Taliban and international agencies.
The official added that they were due to arrive in Islamabad at 9:00 p.m. EST.
President Bush, in a statement from his Texas ranch, hailed the release.
``Today we've got incredibly good news. Our United States military rescued eight humanitarian workers who had been imprisoned in Afghanistan,'' he said.