Taliban free captive Chinese engineer in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD – Pakistani Taliban militants have freed a Chinese engineer held captive for nearly six months, officials said Sunday, as fears rose over the safety of an abducted American threatened with imminent death by his kidnappers.It was not immediately clear if a ransom was paid or militants were freed in exchange for Long Xiaowei's freedom, although a militant spokesman claimed the government had agreed to demands for the enforcement of Islamic law in parts of Pakistan's northwest.Long's release came days before a planned visit to China by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.Earlier this month, a Polish geologist held by Taliban fighters was apparently beheaded in a video obtained by news media and believed by the Polish government to be authentic. On Friday, the kidnappers of American U.N. official John Solecki threatened to kill him within 72 hours and issued a 20-second video of the blindfolded captive saying he was "sick and in trouble."The abductions have underscored the overall deteriorating security conditions in Pakistan, a critical U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism, as it battles a Taliban insurgency in its northwestern regions bordering Afghanistan. On Saturday, a U.S. missile strike on a compound in an area where dozens of Taliban militants had gathered killed 27 people, intelligence officials said.China also is a major ally and longtime financial supporter of Pakistan, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Beijing attached high importance to the case of the kidnapped engineer