2 kidnapped Pakistani engineers rescued

SHIBREGHAN (Pajhwok): Two militants, including a Pakistani, and a policeman were killed during a clash in northern Jawzjan province, an official said on Thursday, when two abducted Pakistani engineers were rescued from their captors.

Provincial police chief, Brig Gen. Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani, told Pajhwok Afghan News the clash that left two insurgents and a policeman dead took place in Shir Baig area of the Qush Tepa district on Wednesday night.

Corpses of the slain rebels, including the Pakistani, were taken away by their comrades from the battlefield, he said.

It was the first time a Pakistani national killed in Jawzjan. Local residents had previously said some foreign nationals fighting alongside local militants in the province do not talk to local people.

A Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed Afghan Local Police (ALP) members suffered heavy casualties during the clash in Qush Tepa.

Meanwhile, two kidnapped Pakistani road construction engineers were rescued from their captors during an operation on Thursday.

Police commander (operations) Col. Abdul Manan Raufi said the engineers had reached a police post in Dasht-i-Laila area and they would be shifted soon to the provincial capital, Shiberghan.

The two were abducted on Sept 7 from the Dasht-I-Laila—Shiberghan highway. Their driver was killed after their abduction but the engineers were kept hostage by the unknown armed men.

The Taliban expressed unawareness about the abduction.

mds/ma