KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- A reporter for the British newspaper The Guardian and two other journalists were released Wednesday after being held hostage in Afghanistan, officials said.
Ghaith Abdul-Ahad and two Afghan journalists, who were let go by their abductors after six days of captivity, said they were exhausted but in good shape, The Guardian reported.
The newspaper said they were kidnapped by armed men in a mountainous border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan while on their way to interview militants operating near Pakistan's North-West Frontier province -- an area known as a stronghold for the Taliban, Hezb-e-Islami and various criminal gangs.
"The Guardian has a comprehensive emergency plan to deal with such incidents, which was enacted immediately in both London and Kabul," said a spokesman. "As part of this plan the paper engaged professional advisers in the U.K. and Afghanistan to assist in securing the individuals' release."
The journalists reportedly spent much of their time on the move amid cold and snowy conditions, consuming only soup, tea and bread.
