Kidnapped Reporter Stephen Farrell Freed; Afghan Aide Killed

KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 9, 2009— -- British commandos dropped from helicopters and stormed a compound in northern Afghanistan overnight to free captured New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell, but a firefight with his Taliban captors killed Farrell's Afghan colleague, one of the commandos and family members of the compound's owner.

The death of Sultan Munadi, a veteran freelance journalist who had been working for The New York Times for four years and the British soldier sparked questions in the Afghan media about the wisdom of the raid, although a local politician praised the decision to send in commandos.

The New York Times said it was unaware that the raid would take place.

Last Saturday armed Taliban fighters kidnapped Farrell and Munadi as the two interviewed witnesses to a NATO airstrike that killed approximately 90 people in Kunduz province.

U.S. military officials have admitted the strike killed many civilians.

Farrell provided an account of the raid to The New York Times this morning, describing what he called a "fierce firefight" with "a lot of soldiers."

As the helicopters approached, Farrell told the Times, "We were all in a room, the Talibs all ran, it was obviously a raid. We thought they would kill us, we thought, should we go out."

Farrell and Munadi ran outside and heard British and Afghan voices, Farrell said. Munadi then advanced ahead of Farrell, shouting "Journalist! Journalist" when he was shot. Farrell said he was unsure who shot Munadi.

"I dived in a ditch," Farrell told the Times, staying there for a few minutes before calling out to the British voices. They urged him to approach, and as he did, he saw Munadi's body. "He was lying in the same position as he fell," Farrell told the Times.

"That's all I know. I saw him go down in front of me. He did not move. He's dead. He was so close, he was just two feet in front of me when he dropped."

This afternoon a group of more than 30 Afghan journalists received Munadi's body in Kabul. Munadi, who leaves behind a wife and two young children, studied in Germany and was in Afghanistan on vacation when he traveled to Kunduz with Farrell. The journalists were extremely emotional questioning the raid and how the troops treated Munadi's body.