KABUL, Afghanistan, June 2 (UPI) -- Four aid workers kidnapped in northern Afghanistan have been rescued by coalition forces in a military operation that killed five kidnappers, officials said.
The NATO-led coalition said British nutritionist Helen Johnston, Kenyan medic Moragwa Oirere and two Afghans were rescued in Badakhshan province Friday and a fifth aid worker was released soon after, the BBC reported.
The aid workers -- all members of the Switzerland-based aid group Medair -- were kidnapped while on horseback May 22 in the remote, mountainous province of Badakhshan in northeastern Afghanistan.
The four members who were rescued were found in a cave by a rescue team that arrived in darkness by helicopter.
Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, a spokesman for security forces in northern Afghanistan, said the hostages were in a "good condition."
Police in Badakhshan described the gunmen as part of a criminal group. But the BBC said heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47s found during the operation suggested the kidnappers had links to insurgent groups such as the Taliban.
In a statement, Johnston's family said: "We are delighted and hugely relieved by the wonderful news that Helen and all her colleagues have been freed. We are deeply grateful to everyone involved in her rescue, to those who worked tirelessly on her behalf, and to family and friends for their love, prayers and support over the last 12 days."
A group of foreign medical workers, including six Americans, were killed in Badakhshan in 2010 in an attack blamed on insurgents, the BBC said.
