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Aussie aid workers recall 'miracle' escape from Taliban
The pair and six colleagues were held for 104 days as the Taliban accused them of preaching Christianity and U.S.-led strikes began.
- Australian aid workers Peter Bunch and Diana Thomas endured 104 days in Taliban captivity after their arrest on August 3, 2001, until US special forces rescued the group in mid-November.
- Religious police arrested the Shelter Now International team for preaching Christianity; the situation grew dire when Al-Qaeda's September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Centre transformed them into Taliban prisoners of war.
- Thomas, now 76, called the allegations "a load of rubbish," saying "We were obviously taken as hostages for 9/11, human shields." The group faced execution threats throughout their confinement.
- Army Delta Force soldiers guided the group to two helicopters under cover of darkness in mid-November. Bunch, now 83, recalled the ordeal, saying "I made peace with myself and God."
- The rescue concluded as the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance swept south, ending the 104-day ordeal. The 9/11 attacks, which killed 2,977 people, sparked two decades of war in Afghanistan.
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Sydney Morning Herald+3 Reposted by 3 other sources
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.
·North Sydney, Australia
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources7
Leaning Left4Leaning Right1Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution57% Left
Bias Distribution
- 57% of the sources lean Left
57% Left
L 57%
C 29%
14%
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