Three UN workers freed by kidnappers in Afghanistan rejoiced at their freedom yesterday and said they were sustained through 27 days of captivity by thoughts of their family and friends.

　　Looking tired but happy a day after their release, Philippine diplomat Angelito Nayan, Annetta Flanigan from Northern Ireland and Shqipe Hebibi of Kosovo met privately with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

　　They also had a tearful reunion with colleagues at a UN residence and made a statement that cast no light on their mysterious abduction, but made clear their yearning to share the "wonderful feeling" of freedom with loved ones.

　　"The hope of getting back together with them kept us going," Flanigan read from a sheet of paper, Nayan and Hebibi at her side. "We thank them for their love, their prayers and their friendship. We are looking forward to joining our families and returning to our work."

　　Later yesterday, Nayan said farewell to officials at Kabul airport before boarding a UN plane clutching a copy of former US President Bill Clinton's memoirs. Officials did not divulge his immediate destination.

　　In Manila, his elder sister, Grace, said Nayan wanted no fanfare on his homecoming.

　　"He wanted to come home as quietly as possible. That's what he wants because he is also aware that somebody is also held in captivity," she said, referring to Filipino accountant Robert Tarongoy, who is being held by insurgents in Iraq.

　　The two women were expected to depart from Afghanistan in the coming days.

　　Armed men seized the three, who helped organize Afghanistan's landmark October presidential election, on a busy Kabul street on October 28, the first such abduction since the Taliban fell in late 2001.

　　A Taliban splinter group claimed responsibility for the kidnappings.

　　Officials insist they did not agree to pay a ransom or free any jailed militants to secure the hostages' release.

　　(The Associated Press)