The Taleban has released a female French aid worker, one of five individuals who have been held captive in Afghanistan for more than three weeks.
Speaking at a brief news conference at the French embassy in Kabul Saturday, the woman, identified only as Celine, pleaded with Taleban militants for the release of her four colleagues who are still being held.
The aid worker thanked the militants for treating her with respect, but urged them "in the name of their God" to have pity on their captives.
The Taleban is still holding a French man and three Afghans who work for the French children's aid group Terre d'Enfance. The group says it released Celine as a goodwill gesture.
The Taleban says it will not release the four men until the French and Afghan governments meet their demands for the withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan and release of Taleban prisoners.