Kidnapping and hostage taking has become a common occurrence in Afghanistan following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Kidnappers include Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters and common criminal elements.
The following is a list of known foreign hostages in Afghanistan.
Australia
Released (3) Diana Thomas and Peter Bunch, arrested by the Taliban in August 2001 in connection with her work for Christian aid organization Shelter Now, held in captivity until November 15, 2001. Timothy John Weeks, a professor, was kidnapped along with American professor Kevin King by the Taliban on August 7, 2016, while traveling in Kabul. Their driver and bodyguard were not taken. Weeks was released by the Taliban along with King in November 2019 as part of a prisoner swap.
Bangladesh
Released (8) Noor Islam, an aid worker for the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, was kidnapped on September 15, 2007, in Lowgar Province. On December 8, 2007, he was freed by the abductors. Seven employees of the Samwhan Corporation were kidnapped by the Taliban near Mazar-i-Sharif on December 17, 2010. Two were released on Dec. 19. The other five, Imam Uddin, Mahbub Ali, Aminul Islam, "Lablu" and Mojibur Rahman, were released on August 2, 2011
Burma
Released (1) A Red Cross worker was kidnapped by the Taliban along with two Afghans and a Macedonian citizen in Wardak Province on September 26, 2007, while working to secure the release of the German hostage Rudolf Blechschmidt. They were freed on September 29, 2007.
Canada
Released (2) Mellissa Fung, a CBC journalist, was kidnapped by armed men from a refugee camp outside of Kabul on October 12, 2008. Her translator and driver were not taken. Fung was released on November 8, 2008. Colin Mackenzie Rutherford, a tourist, was kidnapped by the Taliban in late October 2010. He appeared in a hostage video in May 2011. The Government of Canada announced his release on January 11, 2016.
Rescued (1) Joshua Ainslie Boyle was kidnapped along with his American wife Caitlan Connemara Coleman by the Taliban in October 2012 in Wardak province. Coleman was seven months pregnant at the time and gave birth three times in captivity. The couple appeared in two hostage videos sent to their families in 2013, and reappeared in new video footage in 2016, although it was not known when the video was taken. Boyle, Coleman, and their three children were rescued by Pakistan forces on October 11, 2017. Boyle was previously married to Zaynab Khadr, of the notable Egyptian-Canadian family.
China
Released (3) Eng. Sink, a worker for a Chinese road building firm was kidnapped along with his Afghan driver, Lala Gan, by unknown militants on June 29, 2008, while driving towards his company's camp in Wardak Province. Gan was freed two days later. Sink was freed on July 27, 2008. Zhang Fengqiang, an engineer, and Wu Yulin, a worker, were kidnapped along with their two Afghan drivers and two Afghan guards by the Taliban on January 16, 2010 as they were working on a road project in Afghanistan's northern province of Faryab. The Afghans were freed three days later after negotiations with tribal elders. Fenggiang and Yulin were freed on April 24, 2010.
Denmark
Released (1) Nagieb Kahja, a Danish-Afghan journalist, was kidnapped in Kunar Province by the Taliban on July 25, 2007. On the same day Nagieb Kahja was freed after few hours in captivity.