Taleban insurgents have abducted 16 people in two separate incidents in northern Afghanistan, a region that has been long seen as relatively safe, officials said Tuesday. Ousted from power in a US-led invasion in 2001 but still strong in southern and eastern Afghanistan, the Taleban have become increasingly active in the once-peaceful north as they continue to battle coalition forces in the country. In one incident, Taleban fighters stormed a clinic in the rugged Sar-i-Pul province, seizing eight health workers including women, said Bilal Nairam, a senior provincial police officer. He said a search was underway to find those kidnapped in the province. In the second kidnapping, Taleban fighters staged an attack on a police post and took away eight police officers, the provincial police chief, Khalil Andarabi, said. - Reuters The Taliban could not be reached for comment. Taliban fighters often stage kidnappings as part of their campaign against coalition forces but abductions have also become a lucrative business for criminal gangs and rival tribes in recent years. This year has seen a dramatic rise of violence in Afghanistan where 100,000 Western troops, two-thirds of them American, are fighting to contain an increasingly fierce insurgency. (Writing by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by Sugita Katyal) __
