Two female foreign aid workers and their two Afghan colleagues were rescued in a pre-dawn raid Saturday after being held by militants for 11 days in a cave in northern Afghanistan, the U.S.-led military coalition said. The women - Helen Johnston and Moragwe Oirere - and the two Afghans were kidnapped on May 22 in Badakhshan province. The four work for Medair, a humanitarian non-governmental organization based near Lausanne, Switzerland, according to a report of the Associated Press. U.S. Gen. John Allen, the top commander of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said that coalition forces conducted the rescue mission with the support of the Afghan Ministry of Interior. Afghan officials said seven militants were killed during the operation, which was launched around 1 a.m. Saturday.
