Taliban militants capture nine people from downed chopper

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.

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