The precise location of Sunday Express journalist Yvonne Ridley was a mystery last night after reports said she had been released from captivity but had yet to leave Kabul when the first missiles struck.

The Taliban said that she would be accompanied by an official on the six hour road journey to Pakistan today, but after the attack was launched, her father, Allan, said: "This is the news we have been dreading. We are very worried. We just feel fear - fear for her safety."