Insurgents free 20 Daikundi truckers in Uruzgan

TARINKOT (Pajhwok): The 20 drivers taken hostage by Taliban militants in central Uruzgan province have been released as result of tribal elders’ negotiation, an official said on Saturday.

The militants stopped 20 trucks on their way from Kandahar to the Kajran district of Uruzgan and took the drivers to an unknown location on Wednesday.

Later, the hostages were shifted to the Sarab area of Charchino district. Kajran district chief, Zamin Poya had said the truckers were residents of Daikundi.

Dost Mohammad Nayab, the Uruzgan governor’s spokesman, told Pajhwok Afghan News all hostages had been released. They reached their homes on Friday.

He said the drivers were freed after 15 elders negotiated with the Taliban. The local administration also played an active role in releasing the captives, he added.

Taliban’s shadow district chief for Charchino, Mullah Hikmatullah, was involved in the kidnappings, Nayab alleged. But the insurgents denied the claim.

Daikundi police chief, Brig. Gen. Juma Guldi, confirmed the drivers’ release. He insisted the releases had been unconditional.

A month back, 30 passengers were kidnapped on the Kabul-Kandahar highway by unknown gunmen in the Shah Joi district of Zabul province. Their fate is still unknown.

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