Six tribal elders have been kidnapped by militants from highway between Balkh and Jowzjan provinces in north Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday.
The tribal elders of Jowzjan’s Faizabad district were on their way to attend a funeral in provincial capital Sheberghan when their vehicle was stopped by militants who then abducted them on Tuesday afternoon, said Abdul Maruf Azar, a spokesman for provincial governor.
It was the funeral of a commander of people’s uprising forces, Alla Berang, who had been killed in a traffic incident on Andkhoy-Jowzjan highway, Azar said.
He said that efforts were underway to secure release of the abducted people, including through local Jirgas.
The official blamed the Taliban for the kidnapping. The group has yet to make a comment.
