Afghan hostage makes dramatic escape, kills 7 Taliban men as they were praying

An Afghan man who was taken hostage by the Taliban made a dramatic escape after stealing the gun of his captors and shooting dead seven of them. Awal Khan and a local police officer were kidnapped on Wednesday as they were driving in the eastern province of Paktika.

The officer was killed and Khan was taken to a Taliban compound in the Gomal district where he was held for several hours.

During afternoon prayers, Awal, who was handcuffed at the time, grabbed a weapon belonging to one of his captors and opened fire.

"Awal Khan sprayed bullets on all of them, killing seven and wounding 18 others," provincial governor spokesman Mohammad Rahman Ayaz told AFP.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed to AFP that the group had kidnapped the two men and that Awal had opened fire on the militants, killing three of them.

Awal then fled in a pickup truck belonging to his kidnappers, Ayaz said.

His brother, a local police commander, shared details of the incident with authorities.

OneIndia News