A German engineer and four Afghans taken hostage in central Afghanistan in July were freed in a deal exchanging them for five imprisoned criminals, an Afghan official said.
Local elders handed over Rudolf Blechschmidt and the four Afghans to officials from Afghanistan's intelligence service on Wednesday in Wardak Province's Jaghato District, district chief Mohammad Nahim said.
Nahim had earlier said six Taliban militants had been freed in the swap. However, he later said that no Taliban had been released, but that five imprisoned criminals had been freed. He said one of the criminals was the father of the Taliban commander who had taken the German and Afghans.
Nahim said Afghan elders had arranged the exchange. An interior ministry spokesman confirmed the release but said he did not have further details about how it was arranged.
Blechschmidt arrived at the German Embassy in Kabul on Wednesday evening, about three hours after his release. An embassy official said Blechschmidt would not make any comments to media.
Blechschmidt told Germany's Spiegel magazine upon his release that he was "doing well."
"I'm just a little tired," the magazine quoted him as saying in a short telephone interview posted on its Web site.
"We are all very relieved and overjoyed," Markus Blechschmidt, the former hostage's son, said on German regional broadcaster Antenne Bayern.
He said the family had spoken briefly to the engineer after his release.
"He had thought he would never be freed," Markus Blechschmidt said. "We are hoping to be able to give him a big hug as quickly as possible."
"The whole stress of the past three months is finally over," the son said. "We can hardly believe it."
A series of high-profile kidnappings by Taliban militants and criminal gangs have led to ransom payments and prisoner releases in Afghanistan, apparently fueling an increase in abductions in recent months.
The Italian and Afghan governments drew criticism earlier this year when five imprisoned militants were freed in exchange for a kidnapped Italian journalist. Afghan President Hamid Karzai had then called the exchange a one-time deal.
Blechschmidt said in a video obtained by APTN on Monday that he was in poor health, and pleaded with the German and Afghan governments to cut a deal with the Taliban before winter.
Blechschmidt said the German embassy had refused to engage in negotiations for a time, but that negotiations had restarted recently.
The Taliban took four Red Cross employees hostage on Sept. 27 during efforts to facilitate the German's release. The four were released in good health two days later.
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