Armed men abduct 11 passengers in N. Afghanistan

Unknown armed men believed to be Taliban insurgents abducted 11 passengers from a bus in the northern Baghlan province on Sunday, provincial police chief Abdul Jabbar Purduli said. "The armed abductors obviously Taliban fighters stopped a bus in Dand-e-Ghori area and after taking out 11 passengers took them away to unknown location," Purduli told reporters here.

Without giving more details, the official said that efforts are underway to secure the safe release of the abductees.

Dand-e-Ghori area in the outskirt of Pul-e-Khumri is a stronghold of Taliban in the northern Baghlan province.

Armed men affiliated with Taliban militants abducted 31 bus passengers in the southern Zabul province in lFebruary and after a couple of months of negotiations 19 abductees were set free in a reported prisoner swap and the fate of the remaining 12 is still unknown. Endi