BBC新闻100篇 News Item 60

NATO troops in Afghanistan

have rescued a reporter

of the New York Times newspaper

who had been held by the Taliban

in the northern province of Kunduz since Saturday.

The New York Times said the journalist Stephen Farrell

was unharmed after being released in the gun battle.

Chris Morris reports from Kabul.

A military operation led

by NATO forces rescued Stephen Farrell from a village

in the northern province of Kunduz

where he had been kidnapped last week

while reporting on the aftermath of a NATO airstrike.

In remarks quoted on the New York Times website

he says he heard British and Afghan voices

as bullets started flying around.

That suggests that British troops were involved

in the rescue

although there has been no confirmation of that.

Stephen Farrell's colleague Sultan Munadi,

an Afghan interpreter

who's worked for the New York Times

for several years

was killed in the exchange of fire.