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American Morning

International Aid Workers Rescued by Northern Alliance and U.S. Special Operations Forces

Aired November 15, 2001 - 09:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(09:05)

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: More now on the rescue of those eight western aid workers. They are free after being airlifted to safety by -- into Pakistan by U.S. special forces. The group, including two Americans, spent nearly three months in Taliban custody. They were charged with preaching Christianity.

Jim Clancy is standing by in Islamabad, Pakistan with their story. Good morning again, Jim.

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello again, Paula. We're getting some more details coming out now about the ordeal that these eight aid workers suffered. They say very unexpectedly they were tossed into prisons. They said that they really believed, at near the end of all of this ordeal, that they were extremely valuable to Taliban, Number one.

And Number two, they feared that their fate was either to be held as hostages, perhaps human shields, or, in the end, to be killed in revenge for any attack that might fall upon the Taliban militia or its leadership itself. So a very harrowing time for all of these people.

As you reported, they were plucked out of the central region south of Kabul in Afghanistan by U.S. special operations helicopters, early on Thursday and taken to Pakistan. They were then ferried up to Islamabad, the capital. The four Germans taken to their embassy; the two Australians, the same. And the two Americans, of course, taken to the U.S. Embassy, where they spent much of the day in tearful reunions with family members and also talking on telephone -- and such things as, well, having their hair done. One of them said it was great to be free. Paula.

ZAHN: So, Jim, I know we addressed this earlier, but the ambassador, U.S. ambassador to Pakistan said that it is her belief that the Taliban probably had a plan in mind to -- to go back and take these prisoners, perhaps, into Kandahar. Any new details on that?

CLANCY: Well, the only thing that we can do is speculate, really, a little bit on that. We know that they were first put into a cargo container. Some of the women very fearful when the doors of that container were closed. Then they were taken to another prison, and, according to some of the German hostages, who spoke at their embassy just a matter of about an hour ago, they really feared that at that point, yes, they were going to be taken to Kandahar. And that fate we talked about, being held as hostages, perhaps being killed in retaliation for U.S. or Allied airstrikes. That was the period in time when they were the most fearful about their fate. In the words of George Taubman, on of the German hostages, "we didn't think that all of us or perhaps any of us would get out alive, unless someone came in to help us."

Of course, that is what happened. And I can tell you all of these eight former prisoners, very happy to be alive, to be in Pakistan right now.

ZAHN: I guess, Jim, what I was struck by were the pictures that we just turned around of Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry, and how -- how healthy they looked, how relaxed they looked. But you had some news conference video too of some of the other aid workers. I -- I found the physical appearance quite striking, given what they've been through over these last couple of months.

CLANCY: They said that they were never physically threatened, never beaten by the Taliban. They did say, at one point, it appeared that many of their guards were Pakistani -- Pakistanis or Arabs. They said that they did feel that they were valuable to the Taliban; that they were getting the best treatment that they possibly could, but at times they were held in absolutely dreadful conditions -- with all kinds of animals, as they called them, in their cells with them. Of course, the men and the women were segregated, and the conditions, sometimes they were held in underground prisons.

All the time they could hear the activities on the street. They could hear it Kabul when protesters stormed and burned the U.S. Embassy. They had particular fears for those two American women that were in their group. Most of the talking done by George Taubman, perhaps the most senior member of the aid group that was operating inside Afghanistan. He says he bears no ill will towards his captors, but clearly all of them very, very relieved as are their relatives to have them home and have them safe tonight.

ZAHN: All right, Jim Clancy, thanks so much for that update.

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