French Hostage Dies in Blast in Tajikistan

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan —  A French hostage was killed Sunday, along with five of her suspected abductors, when a grenade exploded during a confrontation with government forces trying to free her, sources said. Her companion had been released hours earlier.

Karine Mane, who worked for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, was seized Nov. 18 along with Franck Janier-Dubry at their apartment in Dushanbe, the Tajik capital. Authorities blamed the kidnapping on an anti-government warlord who opposes a peace settlement in the impoverished ex-Soviet republic in Central Asia.

Several days ago, security forces surrounded the house where Mane and Janier-Dubry were believed to be held, according to a security source who requested anonymity.

The kidnappers freed Janier-Dubry on Saturday night, demanding the release of the warlord’s jailed brother in return, the source said. However, after the government agreed, the kidnappers also insisted that an opposition leader who signed a peace treaty with the government be turned over.

On Sunday, an explosion rocked the house. Five suspected kidnappers were found dead; Mane died a short time later, the source said.