Accessibility links

Breaking News

Afghan Shi'ite Community Leader Says IS Militants Involved In Kidnappings


A senior Afghan Shi'ite community leader says Islamic State (IS) militants are responsible for kidnapping dozens of Shi'ite men and boys earlier this year.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer Mohammad Mohaqiq told RFE/RL correspondent Freshta Shikhany on April 4 that two former Taliban leaders, Mullah Mansur Dadullah and Mullah Abdullah Kaka, were behind the abduction.

“In some places, the white flag of the Taliban has been changed for the black [IS] flag,” Mohaqiq added.

In the mass abduction, masked gunmen seized about 30 passengers from two buses in the southern province of Zabul on February 24 as they were traveling in two buses toward the capital, Kabul, on Afghanistan's main ring-road highway.

According to local officials, gunmen rounded up male Hazara passengers and whisked them away, while women, children, and non-Harazas were left behind.

With reporting by AP
  • 16x9 Image

    RFE/RL's Radio Azadi

    RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, one of the most popular and trusted media outlets in Afghanistan, is based in Kabul and supported by a nationwide network of local Dari- and Pashto-speaking journalists. Nearly half of the country's adult audience accesses Azadi's reporting on a weekly basis.

XS
SM
MD
LG