16 February 2017

News Report: Militants Kidnap Over 50 Civilians in Northern Afghan Province

Militants kidnapped 52 residents of the Jowzjan province in the north of Afghanistan, local media reported Wednesday, citing the local government officials.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The name of the militant group, responsible for the abduction in the province's Darzab district, is unknown so far, the Khaama Press news agency reported. Both the Taliban militants and the Daesh terrorist group, outlawed in Russia and many other countries, are infamous for kidnapping cases on the Afghan territory.

The Taliban is a radical Islamist movement in Afghanistan. The group has recently advanced in the rural territories and launched an offensive in big cities of the country. About 15 percent of Afghanistan’s districts were under the militants’ control while 133 were contested, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said on February 1.

The Daesh jihadists have also been active in the country. The most recent terrorist attack, carried out by the group, reportedly took place on February 9 in front of Afghanistan's Supreme Court.

Since the country suffers from the continuous activity of Taliban militant groups, in order to settle the conflict the consultations on promoting reconciliation in Afghanistan will be conducted later on Wednesday in Moscow. Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India and Afghanistan are expected to take part in the talks.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.