Two Waco women detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan were not harmed by Sunday's bombings there, the mother of one reported to their church pastor Monday.
Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer, members of Waco's Antioch Community Church, are among eight foreign-aid workers accused of preaching Christianity in the sternly Islamic nation. Antioch assistant pastor Danny Mulkey, who is in neighboring Islamabad, Pakistan, to show the church's support, said Monday a Taliban official told Curry's mother that they were safe after the first round of U.S. and British strikes against Afghanistan.
The U.S. State Department confirmed that Curry and Mercer were safe as of Monday morning, but spokeswoman Eliza Koch said there was no additional news Monday evening, after several hours of bombing were under way for a second day.
Four of the workers are from Germany and two are from Australia. Germany sent Juergen Chrobog, a deputy to Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, to Islamabad Monday for talks with Pakistani officials about stepping up efforts to free the workers, fellow deputy Guenter Pleuger said.
"The situation (for the aid workers) is clearly more dangerous," Pleuger said. "We're trying to increase the pressure on the Taliban to free them," he said, without giving details.
Pakistan is the only country with diplomatic relations with the Taliban government in Kabul, where the aid workers are being kept. It is one of many cities targeted by the U.S. and British air strikes.
The families of Australian detainees Diana Thomas and Peter Bunch were devastated by news of the U.S.-led attacks, their friends and family said Monday.
Bunch's family had remained positive before Sunday's attacks, but was devastated by the air strikes, an unidentified person close to the family told Australia's national news agency, Australian Associated Press.
Thomas' brother, Joseph Thomas, echoed the feelings of the Bunch family.
"I'm really concerned about America's actions at the moment," he told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
The Waco women were arrested Aug. 3. The eight detainees worked for Shelter Now, a German-based aid organization. Jimmy Seibert, Antioch's senior pastor, has said Curry, 29, and Mercer, 24, were providing health care and education to Afghan street children.
Mulkey said Nancy Cassell, Curry's mother, spent most of Monday at the American embassy in Islamabad, and he believes Mercer's parents were there as well.
"(Cassell) was extremely glad that they got word that they were OK, but she was really tired," Mulkey said. "It has been a real tiring day, she said."
The Waco detainees have used to faxes to communicate with their parents and Mulkey during the last couple of weeks, and Mulkey said the parents sent faxes to their daughters Monday. He said he received two faxes from the women before bombing began Sunday.
"They've been good notes," he said. "Bottom line: ‘This is a really tough time, but we're trusting the Lord and praying. Tell our friends hi and we look forward to seeing everybody.’ ”
"They always encourage people to keep praying," Mulkey added.
Students at Baylor University, Curry and Mercer's alma mater, said some professors use class time to update the status of the two women. Several foreign and domestic missionary groups hosted booths in the school's student center Monday for the start of Missions Emphasis Week.
"I think every missionary that's here this week feels a certain identity with these two young ladies," said Ken Bowie, who was recruiting missionaries for work in Peru. "We realize it could have been us at one time."
Jason Embry can be reached at jembry@wacotrib.com or at 757-5743. The Associated Press and Cox News Service contributed to this story.