Pakistan Taliban releases kidnapped Swiss couple

A Swiss couple kidnapped by the Pakistan Taliban last July have been released.

This recently-released amateur video, given to Reuters by a Taliban source, shows the couple speaking on camera during their captivity.

Military and intelligence officials said on Thursday that the couple were left at a military checkpoint on a main road in north-western Pakistan.

Local media identified the pair as 31-year-old David Och and 29-year-old Daniela Widmer.

The two Swiss nationals were kidnapped in Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan and were held by the Taliban in North Waziristan.

According to local intelligence sources, they were transported to Peshawar by helicopter after their release and were taken to a "secure location".

Kidnapping for ransom is relatively common Pakistan, although foreigners are not often targets.

The Pakistan Taliban was not immediately available for comment, and the Swiss embassy declined to confirm or deny reports of of the couple's release.

Travis Brecher, Reuters