PUL-E-ALAM, Afghanistan,
April 22 (Xinhua) -- Taliban militants
captured nine people from a downed
helicopter in Azra district of Logar
province over night, local official
Hamidullah Hamid said
Monday.
"A civilian helicopter
went down in Darai Manga area
of Azra district overnight and Taliban
militants captured all nine aboard,"
Hamid told Xinhua.
Eight of
the hostages are Turkish nationals and
one is Afghan, Hamid said, adding
that the Turkish nationals are
construction engineers and were coming
from Khost to Kabul.
According
to the Hamid, the efforts are
underway to rescue the
abductees.
Taliban militants fighting
the government have yet to make
comment.
Meantime, the NATO-led
International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) confirmed the incident, saying
there were no enemy activities in
the area.
"We can confirm
that a civilian helicopter was downed
in eastern Afghanistan. The ISAF is
assessing the recovery of the
helicopter," spokesman of the alliance
Captain Luca Carniel told Xinhua.
（Editor：MaXi、Yao
Chun）
