KANDAHAR, 16 August 2005 — Taleban militants kidnapped a Lebanese engineer working on a US-funded road project in southern Afghanistan, officials and the Taleban said yesterday.
“A Lebanese man, Ahmed Reza, working for a Turkish construction company was kidnapped near Qalat, Zabul,” Gulab Shah Alikhil, provincial spokesman for the Zabul governor told AFP. Three Afghans were also taken hostage on the Kabul-Kandahar road on Sunday evening along
Taleban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi confirmed the kidnapping saying, “We captured Ahmad Reza. He’s fine, but we haven’t decided yet on his fate.”
Some 30 suspected Taleban militants were killed and 28 were captured in renewed violence in southern Afghanistan, officials and the Defense Ministry said yesterday.
Seven suspected Taleban were killed in one incident in southern Afghanistan. Six insurgents were killed Sunday as they fled after attacking a security post close to Tirin Kot, provincial Governor Jan Mohammed Khan told AFP. Rest of the Taleban fighters were killed elsewhere.
