Unknown armed abducted 19 de-miners of a mine clearing agency in Afghan province of Paktia with Gardez as its capital 100 km south of Kabul on Sunday, deputy to provincial police chief, Mohammad Zaman, said Monday. "The gruesome incident took place on Gardez-Zarmat road and the unidentified armed men took 19 people working for a land mine clearance agency to unknown location," Zaman told Xinhua.

He added that joint efforts by police and tribal elders had been underway to secure the safe release of the abductees.

However, the official didn't blame any group for the abduction.

Taliban militants are active in parts of the mountainous Paktia province bordering Pakistan's lawless tribal area of Wazirustan. Endi

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