Taliban attack buses in south Afghanistan, abduct 60 people

An Afghan official says Taliban insurgents have attacked a convoy of buses and cars in southern Helmand province and abducted around 60 people.

Mohammad Ismail, a district police chief in Helmand, says initial reports show the attack happened in Gareshk district.

He says the Taliban forced the vehicles to stop at gunpoint. It's not known where the Taliban have taken the abducted passengers.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yusouf Ahmadi says the insurgents still hold 27 of the abducted but freed the others.

Earlier this month, the Taliban killed 12 people they had captured, including policemen and soldiers, in eastern Ghazni province.
 

Last month, Taliban-linked insurgents killed at least nine people after seizing passengers off buses in northern Kunduz province.