Church of Ireland primate Archbishop Robin Eames has offered prayers for the release of a kidnapped Irishwoman after Afghan militants said she and two fellow captives will be executed if efforts to trace there whereabouts continue.
Seven people are today being questioned over the kidnapping of Irish UN worker Ms Annetta Flanigan in Afghanistan.
Officials in Kabul say no demands have been received for the release of the Co Armagh woman and two foreign colleagues, who were snatched from their UN vehicle by armed men in the capital on Thursday.
A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said three of the seven arrested were armed and wearing military uniforms though not part of any authorised military or police unit.
Interrogation of the suspects had so far established no definitive link to the kidnapping, spokesman Mr Latfullah Mashal said. He gave no further details about the suspects, but another government official said some were suspected criminals questioned in an effort to generate leads.
Ms Flanigan, of Richhill, Co Armagh, who has dual British and Irish citizenship, was one of two women abducted together with a Kosovan. The third was a male diplomat from the Philippines.
All those seized work for a joint UN Afghan commission overseeing the landmark presidential elections.
Ms Flanigan's family members have refused to speak to the media about their ordeal, but the head of the Church of Ireland offered them his prayers. Primate Robin Eames said: "While the privacy of their home should be respected, I want them [the Flanigan family] to know of the prayers and support of a host of people," he said.
"I pray that they will all be strengthened and upheld by God's love in their anxiety and time of waiting for news."
This morning prayers were also offered at St Matthew's Church of Ireland church in Mrs Flanigan's home town.
The SDLP MP for Newry and Armagh, Mr Seamus Mallon, called for Ms Flanigan's immediate release. "We can all be proud of the aid workers and election workers like Annetta who make great sacrifices help others in troubled areas of the world," he said.
"We must hope that she will be returned safe and well to her family as soon as possible."
Afghan and Nato forces put up roadblocks around the city yesterday, while police and troops searched houses.
The American military said it was ready to help in any rescue operation. In New York, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the world body was hoping for an "immediate and unconditional release".
The kidnappings, which have been claimed by a group linked to the Taliban, came a week after a suicide attack killed an American woman and an Afghan teenager in the normally secure capital, and ahead of final results due in the historic October 9th presidential poll.
Agencies