Irish UN worker leaves Afghanistan

Irish UN worker Annetta Flanigan, who spent nearly a month in the hands of Afghan kidnappers, left Kabul today.

She is believed to be taking a holiday before returning home to be with her friends and family in Northern Ireland.

Ms Flanigan, along with Shquipe Hebibi, boarded a UN plane which departed this morning from the Afghan capital.

They were kidnapped on October 28, when armed men seized the two women together with Philippine diplomat Angelito Nayan.

The kidnapping stirred concern that Afghan militants were adopting the same tactics used by insurgents in Iraq, but the three were eventually freed unharmed in Kabul on Tuesday.