Two kidnapped foreign women freed in Afghanistan

KABUL: Two foreign women aid workers kidnapped in Afghanistan last week have been freed in an operation by Afghan special forces in which five kidnappers were killed, an official said Saturday.

"Last night in a successful operation Afghan special forces freed two foreign and three Afghan hostages in Shahrbuzurg, Badakhshan," Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, spokesman for security forces in Northern Afghanistan, told AFP.

"Five kidnappers were killed during the operation. The hostages are in good condition," he said.