Gunmen 'abduct German citizen' in Afghanistan

Witnesses said the woman was kidnapped by unknown gunmen early Monday. According to the DPA news agency, the authorities didn't divulge more information about the identity of the abducted person.

But unconfirmed news circulating on social media claim the woman worked for the German aid group GIZ.

As DW continues attempts to verify the reports, a GIZ official and the German Foreign Ministry refused to confirm them.

The Associated Press news agency quoted Kabul's deputy police chief, Gul Agha Rouhani, as saying that the woman was taken by two gunmen who stopped her car early morning.

An Afghan police official told DW's Pashtu-Dari service on condition of anonymity that a "highly secretive operation was under way to find the kidnappers." He added that the security officials were in the area to assess the situation.

No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction.

"Right now an investigation is ongoing," said Najib Danish, an interior ministry spokesman, confirming the kidnapping.

Faraidon Obaid, head of the criminal investigations department in Kabul, told DW that a foreigner was abducted Monday morning but did not confirm if it was a German national.

"What we can confirm at this point is that at around 9 a.m. Afghan local time (4:30 a.m. UTC), a foreign national was abducted. At this point we cannot share more information as it could harm our investigations of the incident," he said.

Increasing violence in Kabul

In May, a German aid worker kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan succesfully fled his captors, according to his own account of events, after spending more than 40 days in captivity.

The security situation in Afghanistan has worsened since the start of the month. Earlier this month, the Taliban targeted government buildings close to Kabul airport and a police academy, hours after a truck bomb tore through the center of the city. The blasts killed at least 35 people and left more than 250 wounded.

The bombings were the first major assaults in the Afghan capital since the death of Taliban leader Mullah Omar was announced.

shs/rg (dpa, AP)