Backlash grows over rescue of Irish reporter

CRITICISM mounted yesterday of the dramatic airborne rescue from Taliban territory of a kidnapped Irish journalist who walked free as four others, including his Afghan colleague, were killed.

Negotiators were deep in talks with the Taliban to free New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell and appeared to be progressing well when British commandos intervened with the rescue operation.

Farrell, who has dual Irish-British nationality, was freed unharmed, but his Afghan colleague, father-of-two Sultan Munadi, as well as a British soldier and an Afghan woman and child were killed.

In Afghanistan, journalists expressed anger over the death of Munadi, saying it was “inhumane” that his bullet-riddled body had been abandoned at the scene.

Farrell and Munadi were the second team from The New York Times to be kidnapped in Afghanistan in less than a year. Their abduction highlighted growing insecurity in the once relatively peaceful north of the country.

Downing Street said British ministers approved the rescue, but one source involved in the Taliban talks said negotiations were under way and no one believed the journalists were in imminent danger. “There were a lot of people trying to make contact and keep the discussions going,” the source said, adding: “We had contact with different parties, and were urging them to release the two journalists unconditionally.”

A spokeswoman for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s office confirmed media reports that Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth took the final decision to approve the use of force.

Public support for British involvement in the eight-year Afghan war is plummeting over record soldier fatalities and a controversial presidential election last month mired in allegations of fraud and vote-rigging. British newspaper The Times, quoting defence sources, said the raid was mounted after British forces feared Farrell could be moved, and there were no guarantees that the negotiations would have led to his and Munadi’s release.

However, several other sources quoted by the newspaper said the kidnappers were, at worst, seeking a ransom.