Seven Bangladeshis abducted in Afghanistan

KABUL - Unidentified gunmen have kidnapped seven Bangladeshi construction workers in a northern Afghanistan province, an official said Sunday.

“Eight people, including seven Bangladesh nationals and an Afghan guard, were kidnapped in Balkh province on Saturday night,” Xinhua quoted interior ministry spokesman Zamarai Bashari as saying.

The abducted men were employees of a South Korean road construction company, he said.

“No one was killed during the attack which led to the abduction of the eight people,” Bashari said.

No group or individual has claimed responsibility, he said adding efforts were underway to rescue the abducted men.

Taliban militants had taken hostage 23 South Koreans in 2007 on charges of preaching Christianity. They killed two of them but set free the others after South Korean government agreed to pull out its troops from Afghanistan.