Afghans say two Germans kidnapped near capital

KABUL, July 19 (Reuters) Afghan authorities searched today for two Germans and six Afghans who were abducted in an area southwest of the capital.

The group was travelling in a car when seized yesterday in Wardak province, the Interior Ministry said.

The identity of the group and who kidnapped them was not clear. Berlin said yesterday that two Germans had gone missing in Afghanistan and its embassy in Kabul and other appropriate authorities were working to find out what had happened.

One German national was kidnapped in western Afghanistan this month, but was released unharmed after few days.

Two German journalists were shot dead in October 2006 in the comparatively safe north of the country where German troops are deployed as part of a NATO peacekeeping force.

The Taliban kidnapped two French aid workers and three of their Afghan colleagues in southwestern Afghanistan in April but later released them unharmed.

The latest kidnappings come amid rising violence in Afghanistan where the Taliban have stepped up their campaign against foreign and Afghan forces in recent months.

In the latest spate of violence, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a police station in a northeastern area, killing one civilian and wounding 11, police said.

The bombing, in the town of Faizabad, was the first suicide attack in the far northeast of Afghanistan, regarded as one of the safer regions of the country and a long way from the Taliban's southern heartlands.

The bomber detonated the explosives attached to his body during the morning rush hour outside the main police station of Faizabad, capital of Badakhshan province.

The casualties were all civilians, said provincial police chief General Noor Aqa. He said he had no other details.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but authorities suspected Taliban militants.

Ousted from power in 2001, the Taliban are largely active in southern and eastern areas where the militants mostly rely on suicide attacks and roadside bombs against foreign and Afghan troops as part of their insurgency campaign.

REUTERS GT VV1227