Afghan official: 11 de-miners kidnapped

By

Published April 2, 2016 9:30AM (EDT)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An official says gunmen have kidnapped 11 land mine clearers in western Afghanistan.

Rauf Ahmadi, the spokesman for the police chief of the western Herat province, said Saturday that a military operation has been launched in the area, with six suspects detained. He says tribal elders had earlier tried negotiating the de-miners' release.

He says all 11 were Afghans employed by the HALO Trust mine clearing organization. They were abducted Friday.

Abduction for ransom is widespread in lawless Afghanistan, and de-miners are soft targets as they usually work in remote regions.

After almost 40 years of war, Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.


By

MORE FROM


Related Topics ------------------------------------------