Indian engineer freed by captives in Afghanistan

New Delhi, May 18 (UNI) An Indian national and a Nepalese who were kidnapped by suspected Taliban in Herat province in Afghanistan on April 21, have been freed, officials said here today.

The two are safe and in Afghanistan Police custody, the officials said.

The Indian, Mohammed Nayeem, and the Nepalese national were freed after Afgghanistan police conducted an operation last night where the two were being held hostage.

Nayeem, who works for a Dubai-based company, was kidnapped along with the Nepalese national while travelling in a taxi on a main highway in Adraskan near Herat.

The kidnapping is part of a series of incidents targeted at Indian workers, including engineers, working in Afghanistan on various projects.

India is constructing a strategic road--the Zaeanj-Delaram highway--that will link India with Central Asia through Afghanistan and reduce dependence on Pakistan for trade and transfer of goods.

Indian engineers working on the road have increasingly become the target of attacks by the Taliban.

UNI RB AKJ KP1930