Gunmen abduct two Afghan government officials

KABUL, Sep 4 (Reuters) Unidentified armed men have kidnapped two Afghan officials, the government said today, the latest in a wave of abductions amid a raging insurgency by Islamist Taliban guerrillas.

The pair, employees of the ministry of rural development, were seized yesterday while discussing a project in the southwestern province of Nimroz with residents, the ministry said in a statement.

''The ministry ... while denouncing this act, asks for the release of the two,'' it said.

Nimroz is not far from the Taliban's main bastion in the south, but is a also a key drug route and riven with criminal activities.

Taliban guerrillas, who are fighting against the government and Western troops stationed in the country, have abducted a number of foreigners and Afghans in recent years. They have killed some, but have freed others.

The Islamic group last week freed 19 South Korean missionary hostages it kidnapped in July after striking a deal with Seoul. The group killed two male Korean hostages.

REUTERS PD AS1904