By Xinhua,
Kabul : An American journalist with the New York Times, along with his two Afghan colleagues, has been kidnapped in Logar province, some 60 km south of the Afghan capital, a spokesman for the provincial administration said Tuesday.
“Unknown people abducted David, the journalist of New York Times along with his local interpreter Tahir and driver yesterday (Monday) evening while driving towards Charkh district without informing the police,” spokesman Jan Mohammad Khalid said.
The spokesman did not give the full name of the journalist.
Khalid said the abducted journalist wanted to interview local Taliban fighters on his own without contacting the officials.
Meantime, the police chief of Logar province Mustafa Mohsini said “any foreigners including journalists should contact police before travelling to Logar province.”
No group or individuals have yet claimed responsibility for the abduction.
Afghanistan has seen a spike in kidnapping of foreigners either by Taliban militants or criminal gangs during past months as a Canadian woman journalist working for CBC was kidnapped from Kabul but set free after almost a month.
Spiralling conflicts and Taliban-linked insurgency have claimed around 5,000 people with over 1,500 civilians so far this year in strife-torn Afghanistan while Taliban insurgents have vowed to intensify assaults against interests of Afghan government and international troops before the onset of winter.