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Aussie aid worker released by captors in Afghanistan: FM

Xinhua, August 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

An Australian aid worker kidnapped in Afghanistan in April this year has been safely released and is set to return to her family, Australia's Foreign Minister confirmed on Monday.

Kerry Jane Wilson, 60, was taken from the office of Afghan women's charity Zardozi in Jalalabad in April, and has been captive of an unnamed Afghan group for more than four months.

Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced the news via an official statement on Monday. Thanking the tireless efforts of the authorities in both Afghanistan and Australia, the foreign minister said that she was "relieved" that Wilson and her family will be reunited.

"I confirm that Kerry Jane Wilson, who was abducted in Afghanistan in April this year, has been released, and she is now safe and well. I am relieved for Kerry Jane, and her family with whom I have remained in close contact," Bishop said on Monday.

"I deeply appreciate the work of the authorities in Afghanistan whose support and assistance facilitated her release, as well as Australian consular staff who continue to provide assistance to Ms Wilson and her family."

Bishop refused to discuss details surrounding the release of the 60-year-old aid worker in order "to protect" the safety of those who "face the risk of kidnapping" both in Afghanistan and in other parts of the world.

"To protect those who remain captive or face the risk of kidnapping in Afghanistan and elsewhere, the government will not comment on the circumstances of Kerry Jane's release. Her family has asked for privacy," Bishop said. Endit