8 nabbed for Aussie aid worker abduction: Afghan official

By Zabihullah Tamanna

KABUL

Afghan police confirmed Saturday that eight suspects had been arrested in connection with the abduction earlier this week of an Australian aid worker.

"Afghan security forces have arrested eight people in the kidnapping case and an investigation is underway," Hazrat Hussain Mashriqiwal, a police spokesman in eastern Nangarhar province where the reported abduction took place, told Anadolu Agency by phone.

"So far, no individual or militant group has contacted [us] and there have been no demands," the spokesman added.

Early Thursday morning, Kerry Wilson, a 60-year-old Australian aid worker, was reportedly kidnapped from her office in Jalalabad -- Nangarhar’s provincial capital -- by unidentified gunmen claiming to be Afghan intelligence officers.

Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the Nangarhar governor, told Anadolu Agency late Friday that the kidnappers had snuck into the office of aid agency Zardozi and abducted Wilson.

"The woman, without keeping security officials in the loop, visited the local office in the 4th municipality district of Jalalabad late Wednesday," Khogyani said.

Brian Wilson, 91, the woman’s father, told local media in Australia that his daughter had been due to fly back to Perth, in Western Australia state, for a 10-day visit this weekend.

"There’s nothing much to be done until we hear the kidnappers’ demands," Wilson was quoted as saying by the Perth Now newspaper.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Saturday that the government was cooperating closely with Afghan authorities and officials of other countries with representation and resource in the region, such as the United Kingdom.

"We are working with those who can assist us in making contact with those who may well have been involved," the Australian Associated Press quoted her as saying.