Yvonne Ridley: worries over her safety
The British Foreign Office has said it is trying to confirm reports earlier today that the Taliban had released an English journalist who was detained nine days ago for entering Afghanistan illegally.
The Afghan official news agency had quoted the Taliban Information Minister as saying the journalist, Yvonne Ridley, had been freed, but it gave no further details.
Ms Ridley, a reporter for the London-based Sunday Express, was arrested with two Afghan guides near the city of Jalalabad after crossing the border from Pakistan.
Tonight, her father said thee family were fearful for her after the Americans and the British had begun carrying out military attacks on targets in Afghanistan.
Allan Ridley, from County Durham, said: "This is the news we have been dreading. We are very worried. We just feel fear, fear for her safety.
"The Taliban have just been playing for time all along and it has not got any easier for us. We will just have to see what tomorrow brings."
Ms Ridley's mother, Joyce, added: "At this stage we don't know exactly what free means. I'll not believe it until she calls me and says she is coming home."
Her reported release followed intensive diplomacy by consular staff at the British High Commission in Islamabad. Ms Ridley was not carrying a passport when she entered Afghanistan, but documentation was subsequently provided proving she was a journalist.
The fate of the two men arrested with Ms Ridley is not known, but they could face severe punishment from the Taliban authorities.
