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Czech tourists released by unknown Pakistani gunmen after two years

Hana Humpalova and Antonie Chrastecka were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in 2013 while riding a bus traveling through Pakistan's Balochistan province toward India.

By Fred Lambert

PRAGUE, Czech Republic, March 29 (UPI) -- Two female Czech tourists kidnapped by unknown gunmen in Pakistan two years ago have been freed from captivity, the prime minister of the Czech Republic said Saturday.

Hana Humpalova, 26, and Antonie Chrastecka, 26, were abducted by unidentified gunmen in March 2013 while riding a bus traveling toward India through Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, an area where kidnappings by criminals and extremists are commonplace.

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Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka confirmed the release of Humpalova and Chrastecka and praised Insani Yardim Vakfi, or IHH, a Turkish Muslim humanitarian organization that negotiated the women's release.

IHH relief worker Izzet Sahin said his organization had been contacted by the women's families as a last resort, the BBC reports.

The kidnappers released at least two videos showing Humpalova and Chrastecka plea for help. "It was very hard. For the first time in our lives we saw weapons and armed men," Turkish news agency Anadolu quoted Humpalova as saying. "We still do not know why we were taken. There were weapons fired and bombs going off. But we got used to it in time."

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The terms of the negotiations remain unclear.

"I wish the two young ladies a quick recovery and a return to normal quiet life," Sobotka said in a statement.

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