( CNN ) -- A New York Times reporter who was held by the Taliban for seven months has escaped , the newspaper reported Saturday . New York Times reporter David Rohde , shown in 1995 , escaped from the Taliban . David Rohde told his wife , Kristen Mulvihill , that he and a local reporter , Tahir Ludin , climbed over the wall of a compound late Friday where they were being held in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan . Pakistani military spokesman Gen. Athar Abbas told CNN that the Pakistani military was involved in freeing Rohde . Additional details were not immediately available . U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a statement expressing her relief about Rohde 's `` return to freedom . '' `` I would like to thank the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan for their assistance in ensuring his safe return , '' Clinton said . `` Journalists put themselves at risk every day to report the news in regions gripped by conflict . We rely on their vital role and I am grateful for their service . '' Watch CNN 's Nic Robertson report on the escape » . Rohde , Ludin and their driver were kidnapped outside of Kabul , Afghanistan , on November 10 , and Afghan and Western officials said recently that Rohde was being held in Pakistan . After leaving the compound Friday night , the two men then found a Pakistani army scout who led them to a nearby army base . On Saturday , they were flown to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan , the newspaper said . A U.S. official told CNN that Rohde will arrive in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates at 10 p.m. Saturday . `` They just walked over the wall of the compound , '' Mulvihill said , according to the newspaper . Ludin hurt his foot during the escape , but otherwise both men appear to be in good health , the newspaper said . The driver , Asadullah Mangal , did not escape , the newspaper said . `` It is hard to describe the enormous relief we felt at hearing the news of David and Tahir 's escape and knowing he is safe , '' a statement from Rohde 's family said . `` Every day during these past seven months , we have hoped and prayed for this moment , '' said the statement , which was provided to CNN by The New York Times . It asked that the family 's privacy be respected . White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the White House was `` very pleased to see that David Rohde is now safe and returning home . '' `` This marks the end of a long and difficult ordeal for David 's family , friends and co-workers . The FBI has been the lead agency on his case , and we refer you to them for any further information , '' he said . The New York Times and other media outlets had kept the kidnapping quiet out of concern for the men 's safety . `` From the early days of this ordeal , the prevailing view among David 's family , experts in kidnapping cases , officials of several governments and others we consulted , was that going public could increase the danger to hostages , '' The New York Times said in a written statement . `` Therefore , we did not publicly discuss the kidnapping . We are deeply grateful to the other news organizations that honored our request to refrain from reporting on it . '' A Taliban spokesman told CNN several weeks ago that the Taliban had released two `` proof of identity '' videos and had demanded negotiations . The Taliban wanted some of its leaders in U.S. custody to be released as well as money , the spokesman said . Rohde , 41 , had traveled to Kabul in early November to work on a book , The New York Times said . He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1996 for his reporting on the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia while working for The Christian Science Monitor . He was also part of The New York Times reporting team that won a Pulitzer Prize in May for coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan last year .
NEW : U.S. secretary of state David Rohde thanks Pakistan , Afghanistan for help . David Rohde was kidnapped outside of Kabul , Pakistan , on late Friday . Rohde , November 10 , said he climbed over the wall of a compound late Friday . Rohde was being held in the Afghanistan region of Pakistan .