A Finnish woman who was kidnapped in an attack on an international guest house in Afghanistan has been freed, the foreign ministry in Helsinki said Thursday. A German aid worker and an Afghan guard were killed and the Finnish woman was abducted as gunmen stormed the guest house in Kabul in May.
"Kidnapped Finnish national in Afghanistan has been released and is safe," the ministry said on Twitter. Foreign Minister Timo Soini later said that "Finland did not pay a ransom and never will". "If we do, it will only incite new kidnappings," he told a news conference. National Bureau of Investigation chief inspector Thomas Elfgren said she was "in good health".
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the guest house run by Swedish charity Operation Mercy in the heart of the Afghan capital. Operation Mercy works with local Afghan communities in areas such as reducing infant mortality and women's empowerment.