Eleven Iranian engineers were among 13 road construction employees taken captive by Taliban forces in western Afghanistan.
The kidnapping took place on Sunday in Farah province. The other two captives are Afghani.
Farah’s police chief said the 13 captives have been taken to the eastern heights in the province.
According to the police chief, the Taliban has called on Iran to stop its road-building project in the province.
Afghani authorities say the captives work for an Iranian company that is building a road from the border of Iran’s Khorasan Province to Farah.
The 123-kilometre road is said to cost 30 million dollars. Construction began two years ago. The project is aimed at improving trade between the two countries.
After the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan road-building projects have been mostly carried out by Indian, Chinese and Turkish companies. Some projects in Western Afghanistan have also been carried out by contracting companies linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
