Gunmen Said To Kidnap 16 Afghan UN Workers

Police say unidentified gunmen have kidnapped 16 Afghans working for the United Nations-sponsored demining agency in eastern Afghanistan.

They say the deminers were seized while traveling between the Khost and Paktia provinces late on July 4.

No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings, but there has recently been an escalation of abductions by Taliban insurgents and criminal gangs.

compiled from agency reports