Afghan forces launch bid to rescue 18 captured by Taliban

While in August, at least 17 people, including 12 Afghan army soldiers, were killed in a helicopter crash in Shinkay, a district relatively free of militant activity in the otherwise volatile province of Zabul. The Taliban claimed that it shot down the helicopter.

“If the army doesn’t stop [its rescue attempts] we will execute them”, Damullah Wakil told AFP news agency. Wednesday’s statement also said that two foreigners were among 18 people captured in the raid.

The area where the chopper went down lies close to the border with Turkmenistan and is partly controlled by the Taliban.

Faryab province has in recent months been the scene of bitter fighting between Afghan security forces and Islamist insurgents, who are increasingly active in northern Afghanistan. He would not say where the helicopter was headed or who was on board, and it was not immediately clear why the helicopter was forced to land there.

Col Mohammed Bahadaur, Afghan Air Force spokesman, said the helicopter was operated by a private company, not the Afghan military.

He said the news was kept secret so the Taliban movement does not split from within.

An army officer in Faryab said the civilian aircraft had been contracted to transport army personnel.

Elsewhere in the country, a provincial director from Afghanistan’s national tax office was killed by Taliban insurgents in the eastern Ghazni province, said Mohammad Ali Ahmedi, Ghazni’s deputy governor.

In Kabul, six civilians were killed and six wounded in two bombings, according to the AP.