An Afghan official Deputy Interior Minister Abdul Malik Sadiqi said a second hostage died of an illness while in captivity and his body has been released. The official said the kidnapping appeared to be the work of a criminal gang.

The pair were forced at gunpoint to get into a vehicle on 11 February as they walked through a Kabul suburb that is home to dozens of aid groups, diplomatic missions, and other foreign organizations. Several foreign workers have been kidnapped in Afghanistan since the Taliban regime was toppled in 2001.