2nd LD Writethru: 17 civilians kidnapped in N. Afghan province: official

Some 17 civilians had been kidnapped by armed men in Afghanistan's northern province of Sari Pul, a local official said on Thursday, the second kidnapping attack in the country within a week.

"Armed men intercepted two minibuses and a truck late on Wednesday along a road connecting provincial capital Sari Pul city to Balkhab district. The attackers shifted the passengers to an unknown location," provincial Governor Zahir Wahdat told Xinhua.

Efforts by security forces and local elders were underway to secure the safe release of the kidnapees from militants' custody, the official noted.

The attack seems to be a retaliation act by the militants as the villagers in Balkhab had recently helped security forces to locate and detain a Taliban local leader in the province, some 350 km northwest of Kabul, according to locals.

On Tuesday, Taliban militants seized three long-distance buses near Kunduz city, capital of northern Kunduz province. The militants shifted dozens of the travelers to nearby villages and shot dead 10 passengers.

The Talbian militants have claimed that the killed were off-duty members of Afghan security forces. The militants still seize eight passengers in an unidentified location in Kunduz, 250 km north of Kabul. Enditem