Taliban official says no foreigners kidnapped but some being 'queried'

A Taliban official denied accusations that the group were kidnapping foreigners but that some were being questioned before they left the country.

World

1 min read

The New Arab Staff & Agencies

21 August, 2021

The Taliban have conducted house-to-house raids searching for journalists [Getty]

The Taliban have not kidnapped any foreigners, although some of them are being questioned before being allowed to leave Afghanistan, an official of the Islamist militant group said on Saturday.

Just a week after the Taliban's swift takeover of the south Asian nation, Western nations have struggled to ramp up the pace of evacuations amid chaos and reports of violence by the insurgents.

"Our fighters will continue to demonstrate restraint," the Taliban official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

He ruled out incidents of reported kidnappings of foreigners, but added, "We are questioning some of them before they exit the country."

The Taliban have disowned responsibility for the disorder at Kabul airport, besieged by thousands desperate to flee the country, and have said the West could have had a better plan to evacuate.

At least 12 people have been killed in and around the airport since Sunday, NATO and Taliban officials have said, as gun-toting Taliban around it urged those without travel documents to go home.

(Reuters)