NYT reporter escapes Taliban captivity

KABUL, Afghanistan, June 20 (UPI) -- New York Times reporter David Rohde escaped from his Taliban captors in Pakistan and has found his way to freedom, the newspaper said Saturday.

Rohde, along with a local reporter, Tahir Ludin, and their driver, Asadullah Mangal, were kidnapped near Kabul Nov. 10 while Rohde was researching a book. Rohde and Ludin escaped by climbing over the wall of a Taliban compound in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region, the Times reported.

Rohde's wife, Kristen Mulvihill, told the newspaper she had spoken to Rohde, who told her that once outside the compound, the pair of reporters found a Pakistani army scout who led them to a nearby army base. On Saturday they were flown to the U.S. Bagram military base in Afghanistan, Mulvihill said.

Initial reports indicated Rohde was in good health. Times Executive Editor Bill Keller said the newspaper and other media operating in Afghanistan kept the kidnapping quiet for fear of putting other journalists at risk.

"From the early days of this ordeal, the prevailing view among David's family, experts in kidnapping cases, officials of several governments and others we consulted was that going public could increase the danger to David and the other hostages," Keller said.