Pakistan’s military says insurgents have freed an army officer and 3 others abducted on Wednesday

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — Insurgents on Saturday freed four people, including an army officer who was abducted three days ago from a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, the military said.

Lt. Col. Khalid Ameer was seized on Wednesday while he was sitting in a mosque to receive mourners after attending his father’s funeral, according to local police.

The “unconditional release” of Ameer and three of his relatives was secured due to the role played by tribal elders and “all the abductees have safely returned home,” the military said in a statement without giving any further details.

No one claimed responsibility for the kidnappings in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan. However, in video statements released hours after they were kidnapped, two of the abductees said they were in the custody of Pakistani Taliban. They also urged the government to accept their abductors’ demands, although these were unclear.

Though the Pakistani Taliban often targets security forces, such kidnappings and releases of abductees are rare. The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, are separate from but allied to the Afghan Taliban, and they have been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.