Perth aid workers recall ‘miracle’ escape from Taliban in wake of 9/11 attacks
Peter Bunch, Diana Thomas and six foreign colleagues became Taliban prisoners of war as bombs rained down after the deadly 9/11 attacks.
Two Australian aid workers and four others became Taliban prisoners of war after being arrested in Afghanistan in 2001. The group, including two Americans, two Germans, and one Pakistani, were accused of preaching Christianity to Afghans. They faced a fundamentalist trial under Sharia law and a potential death penalty. The aid workers were interrogated for weeks and faced inhumane conditions.
US special forces rescued the group 25 years after the 9/11 attacks, which had initially led to the aid workers' imprisonment. The Taliban had initially offered to exchange the group for the release of Al-Qaeda leaders, but the US refused. The aid workers were eventually released when the Taliban was defeated by the Northern Alliance.
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