The Taliban claim to have kidnapped three journalists in Afghanistan on Tuesday and have accused them of being spies, according to a report on the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press agency quoting Taliban sources. The BBC Arabic language site said that the Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah had accused the three journalists of entering the southern Afghan province of Helmand, which is largely under Taliban control, without permission. The Taliban have said that the three journalists include a British national and two Afghans.
The reports of the kidnapping on Tuesday come just as NATO and Afghan forces launch a major offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. |