Italian Hostage Is Freed

An aid worker from Italy kidnapped in Afghanistan has been released and is in good health after 24 days in captivity, government officials from both countries said Thursday.

Four gunmen kidnapped Clementina Cantoni, 32, on a Kabul street May 16.

Cantoni’s father, Fabio, greeted journalists in front of his Milan apartment. “We have talked to Clementina and we found her in the same good humor as always,” he said.

“Our first thoughts go to all of those people who still find themselves in the position Clementina was in.”

Cantoni, who worked for Care International, appeared in a videotape May 29, flanked by two men pointing rifles at her.

The kidnapping was a blow to the U.S.-backed government of President Hamid Karzai as it struggles to impose authority while battling Taliban insurgents and a wave of crime.

On Thursday, Sky Italia television showed pictures of Cantoni, wearing a blue scarf, walking down some stairs with a woman.

Officials said Cantoni would spend the night at the Italian Embassy in Kabul before flying to Rome this morning.

They declined to reveal the kidnappers’ demands or identity except to say they were not militants. Afghan Interior Minister Ali Jalali said the kidnappers had been given nothing. “No ransom was paid and no other concessions were given,” he said.

He said Cantoni’s release was the result of hard work by the police and others, including tribal elders and Muslim clerics who had helped with negotiations. The kidnappers had finally been persuaded to free her, he said.