Taliban Detains 18 Staffers At Humanitarian NGO's Offices, Including American Surgeon

The ruling Taliban has detained 18 staff members of the International Assistance Mission (IAM) in Afghanistan from the humanitarian group's offices in the central Ghor Province, including an American surgeon. The IAM said in a statement on September 15 that it believed all 18 of the team members had been transferred to the Afghan capital, Kabul. The group said the detentions had taken place over 11 days. The long-serving NGO said, "We are unaware of the circumstances that led to these incidents and have not been advised of the reason for the detention of our staff members." To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, click here.